Is there anything more i can do to reduce tension loss?

A

Antxn

Regular Member
Hi BC, i have been researching on tension loss and methods to reduce it.


I am currently using a Li Ning Crank Machine and have no plans to upgrade to a wise. It feels more authentic to string using a crank machine

1. I string using the 1 piece method
2. 10% on tie offs and cross strings
3. I double pull on first 8 mains and all the crosses
4. I use fixed clamps
5. I use starting clamp to start my mains
6. I make sure the strings are neatly parallel and no crossovers
7. I make sure my clamps are not loose before each stringing job


Somehow, the tension seems to drop a lot after 1 day of usage.

Increasing the tension by 1 or 2lbs from my desired tension to compensate it seems like a good solution but it gets risky when stringing at high tensions

Is there anything more that i can do to improve my stringing?

Any help is greatly appreciated! Thanks!

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tension loss after stringing comes from the natural stretching of the string when under tension.

you can prestretch the string a day before stringing. it will require some contraption to keep the string tensioned even when the string elongates.

given a string is 10m long, you can double it down the string and use some pulley mechanism with 40-50lbs weight pulling on the string. that should be sufficient.
 
Antxn said:
By pre stretch you mean hand pre stretch?

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If I can suggest it to you, put 3 lbs higher. For ex, you want 25 lbs, when you string your racket set it as 28 lbs in your crank machine.

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Antxn said:
By pre stretch you mean hand pre stretch?

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If your location in Singapore, feel free to reach me. We can exchange ideas/information on badminton stringing. Cheers.

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As @kwun said, a certain tension loss right after stringing and within the first couple of hours of play is normal and cannot be avoided. The amount of tension loss is also depending on the type of string that is used. From what I see, there is not much more that you can do - expect from regularly checking the calibration of your crank. Your job look really neat and tidy with very little slack string on the outside (I have a little OCD for that, sorry! :)) and if you are sure that your clamps are not slipping, then you're basically out of options.

My suggestion: Simply accept the fact and learn to live with it. You have to figure out for yourself to get the right starting tension so that the string feels comfortable to you once the initial "settling" is over.
 
s_mair said:
As @kwun said, a certain tension loss right after stringing and within the first couple of hours of play is normal and cannot be avoided. The amount of tension loss is also depending on the type of string that is used. From what I see, there is not much more that you can do - expect from regularly checking the calibration of your crank. Your job look really neat and tidy with very little slack string on the outside (I have a little OCD for that, sorry! :)) and if you are sure that your clamps are not slipping, then you're basically out of options.

My suggestion: Simply accept the fact and learn to live with it. You have to figure out for yourself to get the right starting tension so that the string feels comfortable to you once the initial "settling" is over.
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Haha i have OCD also and will get very annoy when it's not neat and tidy. Thanks for the advice! Shall do more experiments!

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Antxn said:
Haha i have OCD also and will get very annoy when it's not neat and tidy. Thanks for the advice! Shall do more experiments!

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You might enjoy trying this stringing pattern then. You can hardly get it any more neat than that. ;)
 
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From my experience 2 piece stringing retains tension better than 1 piece stringing. If you have two identical rackets, than just try both methods at the same time. Use both rackets for a while and alternate. See which string loses tension quickest and most.
 
Dekkert said:
From my experience 2 piece stringing retains tension better than 1 piece stringing. If you have two identical rackets, than just try both methods at the same time. Use both rackets for a while and alternate. See which string loses tension quickest and most.
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Please name one halfway scientific possible explanation why this should be the case. Or why it shouldn't even be the other way round (one more tie-off knot, more slack string).

Same stringer, same machine, same racket and both jobs done well, the difference is negeligable at best and mostly comes down to the stringer's form of the day. Or temperature. Or humidity. Or lunar phase and solar winds.
 
Dekkert said:
From my experience 2 piece stringing retains tension better than 1 piece stringing. If you have two identical rackets, than just try both methods at the same time. Use both rackets for a while and alternate. See which string loses tension quickest and most.
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Can't see why this would be - the only difference is that two-piece has two extra knots (read: two extra sources of tension loss).
 
s_mair said:
As @kwun said, a certain tension loss right after stringing and within the first couple of hours of play is normal and cannot be avoided.
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Prestretch helps - I used to do mine by hand before putting the string in the frame. Just pull until it stops getting any longer.

I never used machine prestretch because my tension was so high that +10% would have taken it past the elastic limit; 32/34 + 10% on BG80 might as well be a frying pan.
If the string even survived the job.
 
s_mair said:
Please name one halfway scientific possible explanation why this should be the case. Or why it shouldn't even be the other way round (one more tie-off knot, more slack string).

Same stringer, same machine, same racket and both jobs done well, the difference is negeligable at best and mostly comes down to the stringer's form of the day. Or temperature. Or humidity. Or lunar phase and solar winds.
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I can't. Except that long time ago I asked a guy at my club, who has a PhD in physics, if it was true that one long piece of string would lose more tension than two shorter pieces of strings. He thought it was plausible. He didn't say yes or no because of x, y, z, though.

And for whatever reason it may have been, it was my personal experience. I had two identical rackets, strung them both right after each other with the same string. One racket in one piece (ATW) and the other 2PTD. I felt the one piece string lost tension quicker/more. Might have been marginal and not that big of a difference, but I decided to stick with two piece stringing.

Antxn seems to be concerned with tension retention. He looks at every little detail to maximise tension retention, of which I also use practically all of them. He strings for himself, so let him try for himself. That is the best way to figure it out. He can try it a couple of times to eliminate form of day factor. And if the temperature, humidity, lunar phase and solar winds all have a different outcome for him, then so be it. He has his answer then.

Cheers and good luck!
 
Dekkert said:
I felt the one piece string lost tension quicker/more.
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Did you feel it, or did you actually measure it? ;)

If you're more comfortable with 2-piece patterns, that's perfectly fine. The more often you are doing a certain pattern, the more consistent the results will be in the end. You will need more time to do a job with a more unfamiliar pattern which already has an influence on the effective tension. Also, it's more likely to make small mistakes with less familiar patterns.

But bottom line, there is no evidence and no conclusive theory why 1-piece should be inferior to 2-piece in terms of tension retention if you put all other factors aside. As @Mark A said, if you want to be really nitpicky, the tendency is more towards it being the other way round and 1-piece having a theoretical advantage.
 
It may have something to do with main/cross tension balance or unbalance. If cross and main tensions do not work in harmony, you may only feel the higher tension part. In 1-piece pattern, the tension will slowly transfer to the lower part and even it out but that's not the case for 2-piece pattern.

It's actually fairly easy to check/confirm this since you have 2 rackets. Just string them with different patterns and use a marker to mark where string meets grommets. In a few days, you should be able to see string moves or not.
 
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Mark A said:
Can't see why this would be - the only difference is that two-piece has two extra knots (read: two extra sources of tension loss).
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For some strange reason for me, I feel like 2 shorter pieces stay tighter longer than 1 long piece.
 
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