To use diabolo or not?
 

I see a lot of people stringing that don't use the diabolo. Is it just preference or is there a reason not to use it. I have always used mine & when I was on the Babolat VS stringing team ( many years ago), I believe most or us used it. I have always felt that it is easier on the string.

Cheers,
kev

Irvin did a YouTube video on this topic. You can search it and you'll know.

I believe I seen a Babolat video that said it relieves the pressure on the gripper. Can't understand that but who am i to argue. I can see how it keeps a constant angle on the string going into the gripper so you will not damage the string when pulling tension. That is why Herb added the diablo to the Wise as an after thought.

Use the diabolo. The spelling is actually diabolo by the way. It does relieve a lot of pressure on the gripper, and it protects the string as well by not needing the gripper to put so much pressure on the string to keep it from slipping. The friction caused by wrapping the string around the diabolo is what lessens the force needed to be placed on the strings by the gripping plates.

There are diablos and diabolos.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diabolo

If the tension on both sides of the diablo / diabolo weren't the same the string would spin around the 'device.'

Thanks for the spelling correction. I see where it gets it's name now. Duh!
I can see how use of the diabolo will lessen the force with which the linear gripper closes on the string. Since the diabolo is helping pull the string the gripper it is not seeing as much linear force from the string & it doesn't close down as tightly.

Cheers,
kev

As stated by RJYU, the force is divided between the 2. Not necessarily evenly, but the gripper does see less tension.

k

I have a Gamma lockout if i adjust the tenion on the lockout to 60 lbs it locks out at 60 whether i go around the diablo or not. The diablo on Gamma is fixed it can not move only the gripper rocks to lockout. Are you really trying to tell me there is 30 lbs of tension on one end of a string and 30 lbs on the other to add up to 60lbs? I was born at night but it was not last night. LOL

Don't get me wrong I think the diablo will releave stress on the string by keeping a constant angle going into the gripper but if one end of the string has 60 lbs of tension then so does the other end.

i use mine, but then again sometimes i don't.

kinda like adult diapers.

I use it on my machines. I'll even double wrap the string in some circumstances to reduce the stress further.

Regards

Paul

Imagine how much stress you could reduce if you wrapped it around the diablo 10 times. You guys aren't being serious now are you?

Irvin, the way I see it, the diablo provides a bit of friction to the equation (as stated several times above), so the jaws of the gripper are not doing all of the pulling. If you wrapped the string around the diabolo 10 times, the gripper would not likely see much tension at all. Just like if I tied the string around the diabolo.
k

Here's a good test to do. Pull tension on some sort of poly string at 28kg or so using the diabolo, and then after releasing tension, check the area that was in the grippers. Then do the same thing without using the diabolo. With many types of strings, you will see noticeably more "flattening" of the string when the diabolo is not used.

The friction caused by using the diabolo is much like the friction caused by climbing rope going through carabiners while rock climbing. This friction allows a lighter climber to easily belay a heavier climber.

Here is a better test. The string in crushed by the gripper more if there is more tension on the string. Take a weight tie it to a string and measure the weight of the weight. Then wrap the string around a diablo and see if it weighs less.

Just in case you want a preview of what you are going to see I just did that. A 10 lb weight weighs 10.63 lbs hung from a string and when I wrap the string around my diablo it weighs 10.69 lbs. I think the reason for the 0.06 lb difference is the weight was free to swing when I did not use the diablo and when I did the string touched the the bar the crank slides on and that little bit of friction caused the difference.

You guys are too funny. Go on run you own test.

think tug-of-war...you're gripping the rope with your bare hands. in order to keep the rope from slipping you have to clamp down on the rope really hard. if you were to wrap the rope around your leading hand, the loop tightens around that leading hand meaning that you won't need to clamp down on the rope nearly as hard with your trailing hand to keep the rope from slipping. try it out and you'll see.

Huge difference. Now you are comparing apples and eggs. I will agree they are both kind of round.

without the diabolo, the gripper is bearing all the tension.

using the the diabolo, the diabolo bears the majority of the tension as the string tightens around the spool so the gripper doesn't need to clamp nearly as hard on the string to hold the string from slipping.

You try it I know what will happen. You will end up with a broken hand if there are enough people pulling on the two ends of the rope.

I ran another test of with the weight. Free the weight weighed 10.63 lbs and when wrapped around the diablo 10.56 lbs. This time it was 0.07 lbs less. Now if the friction of the diablo makes a difference why can't the scale detect it?