Pulling on the string with fingers bad while tensioning?

lelopez · 07-06-2004, 11:04 AM

I guess I learned to string this way many years ago and I now wonder if my methods are correct.

Usually when I am tensioning the string I will give it a little pull once the weight has come to rest. This usually causes my dropweight to drop a little below level causing me to adjust the string so that the weight is level horizontally.

Is this pulling bad for the string/string job? It is a small pull, particularly in the crosses where there is not much pulling you can do. I always try to prestretch, but always find that this little "pull" allows the string to reach the tension that I think it needs.

Is this wrong (remember, I'm pulling on the string in the racquet, not pulling the actual weight down or anything like that)?

thanks,
L.

Gaines Hillix · 07-06-2004, 11:34 AM

lelopez, I see nothing wrong with this as long as you're not pulling down on the drop weight arm. Sounds like you are just releasing a little of the friction between the grommets and the string.

lelopez · 07-06-2004, 11:42 AM

Thanks Gaines, that's EXACTLY what it is used for.....

TennsDog · 07-06-2004, 07:57 PM

Yeah, I actually do that too. I think it does help on the crosses to get some of the looser string tensioned in the back around and near the grommet.

kninetik · 07-06-2004, 08:04 PM

Hmm, never tried it that way. Instead I lifted my drop weight just an inch or two then dropped it and let it gently bounce into a new equilibirium. Then I would readjust the clutch back to the center. Is that an "OK" method to pull some of the looseness out?

TennsDog · 07-07-2004, 07:55 AM

Yes, your way is fine too. Essentially, you are doing a little bit of pre-stretching and taking some of the elasticity out of the string, while pulling with the fingers takes up some of the unnoticeable slack in the string caused by friction.

SW Stringer · 07-07-2004, 01:40 PM

What you're doing (and quite a few others including myself) is overcoming the STICTION (or STatic frICTION) between the strings and grommets and between the mains and crosses. Static friction is greater than sliding friction, so once the force you're applying by pulling on the string exceeds the static friction, it also exceeds the sliding friction and the string segment that's gotten the smallest portion of the reference tension (i.e. that piece of string between the clamp and the grommet) will now come closer to the reference tension, with the result that the drop weight arm ends up being lower.

The simple experiment from high school Physics that illustrates the difference between static friction and sliding friction is to place a block of wood on a wooden ramp (as simple as a 2 by 4), raise the ramp until the block starts to slide, and now lower the ramp and note that the block will continue to slide at a ramp elevation much lower than the initial start angle. Adjusted just right the block goes to the end at a constant speed.

07-06-2004, 11:04 AM	#1
lelopez Rookie Join Date: Jun 2004 Posts: 155	Pulling on the string with fingers bad while tensioning? I guess I learned to string this way many years ago and I now wonder if my methods are correct. Usually when I am tensioning the string I will give it a little pull once the weight has come to rest. This usually causes my dropweight to drop a little below level causing me to adjust the string so that the weight is level horizontally. Is this pulling bad for the string/string job? It is a small pull, particularly in the crosses where there is not much pulling you can do. I always try to prestretch, but always find that this little "pull" allows the string to reach the tension that I think it needs. Is this wrong (remember, I'm pulling on the string in the racquet, not pulling the actual weight down or anything like that)? thanks, L.

07-06-2004, 11:34 AM	#2
Gaines Hillix Hall Of Fame Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 4,240	lelopez, I see nothing wrong with this as long as you're not pulling down on the drop weight arm. Sounds like you are just releasing a little of the friction between the grommets and the string. __________________ Gaines Hillix MRT

07-06-2004, 07:57 PM	#4
TennsDog Hall Of Fame Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,277	Yeah, I actually do that too. I think it does help on the crosses to get some of the looser string tensioned in the back around and near the grommet. __________________ Fear is a waste of time, and pain breeds fear -- ignore pain and live life. Wilson ProStaff 85, Iso-Speed Control crossed w/anything cheap @ 60lbs.

07-07-2004, 07:55 AM	#6
TennsDog Hall Of Fame Join Date: Feb 2004 Posts: 2,277	Yes, your way is fine too. Essentially, you are doing a little bit of pre-stretching and taking some of the elasticity out of the string, while pulling with the fingers takes up some of the unnoticeable slack in the string caused by friction. __________________ Fear is a waste of time, and pain breeds fear -- ignore pain and live life. Wilson ProStaff 85, Iso-Speed Control crossed w/anything cheap @ 60lbs.

07-07-2004, 01:40 PM	#7
SW Stringer Semi-Pro Join Date: Mar 2004 Posts: 621	Overcoming STatic frICTION What you're doing (and quite a few others including myself) is overcoming the STICTION (or STatic frICTION) between the strings and grommets and between the mains and crosses. Static friction is greater than sliding friction, so once the force you're applying by pulling on the string exceeds the static friction, it also exceeds the sliding friction and the string segment that's gotten the smallest portion of the reference tension (i.e. that piece of string between the clamp and the grommet) will now come closer to the reference tension, with the result that the drop weight arm ends up being lower. The simple experiment from high school Physics that illustrates the difference between static friction and sliding friction is to place a block of wood on a wooden ramp (as simple as a 2 by 4), raise the ramp until the block starts to slide, and now lower the ramp and note that the block will continue to slide at a ramp elevation much lower than the initial start angle. Adjusted just right the block goes to the end at a constant speed.