New way of strining O3's (with pics)

el sergento

Hall of Fame
New and improved way of stringing Prince O3 racquets (with pics)

Love your O3's but hate stringing them? Well here's my method of doing the crosses. I only just figured it out, but with all the guru's around here I'm sure someone has already thought of this.

So, as you all know, to do the crosses properly on an O3 you need a special tool or you either need to hold the racquet in place or lock the swivel. I don't have that fancy tool and my Silent Partner doesn't lock well so I came up with the following solution:

Using a flying clamp to straighten the cross string before pulling tension.


Here's what the problem is when pulling tension on the crosses of an O3:
IMG00003.jpg


As you can see, the cross is off to one side and pulling tension this way is not recomended. My solution is to straighten out the cross string before pulling tension by using a flying clamp. To do so, you'll need a flying clamp, obviously (although fixed clamps would probably work too), and to follow these simple steps:

1) Place an open clamp as follows using the adjacanct cross string to keep it in place:
IMG00004.jpg


2) Pull tension, slowly at first, and you'll notice that the tension will keep the clamp in place and that the pulled string will be straight instead of off at an angle:
IMG00005.jpg


3) Once you obtain your desired tension, remove your first clamp, as usual, and simply close the clamp you used to keep the cross string in the right position:
IMG00006.jpg


Wash, rinse, repeat!

There you go, it's quite easy, the method doesn't really take more time than a normal racquet and there's no fooling around with home made tools or strange acrobatics to hold the racquet in place while you pull tension.

Quick note:
Depending on the location of your mains, you might notice that the clamp isn't flush against the frame. If you think this can affect your tension simply increase the desired tension by 1 pound.

Hope this helps!
 
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zapvor

G.O.A.T.
when i cant find someone to stand still for me when i pull tension, i stand myself in position and twist around to get it to go. but yea its a pain.
 

el sergento

Hall of Fame
when i cant find someone to stand still for me when i pull tension, i stand myself in position and twist around to get it to go. but yea its a pain.

Wow, so it's a two person job for you? I almost lost it the first time I strung an o3. I ended up standing myself in position like you do. My back was actually sore the next day.
 

zapvor

G.O.A.T.
no i can do it myself but i rather not. so i just grab whoever happens to be close to me and get them to stand still for 5 min :)

but yea if noones around i just stand myself and go to work
 

el sergento

Hall of Fame
no i can do it myself but i rather not. so i just grab whoever happens to be close to me and get them to stand still for 5 min :)

but yea if noones around i just stand myself and go to work

Give my method a try. It's astoundingly easy.:)
 

strungup

New User
Doesn't this method increase the risk of scoring/ damaging the string across the clamp?, or am I not following you procedure.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Really not much different than other suggestions like placing a Sharpie cap between the strings to hold them off so you can clamp them.

Irvin
 

el sergento

Hall of Fame
Doesn't this method increase the risk of scoring/ damaging the string across the clamp?, or am I not following you procedure.

Not really because the clamp is open when you pull tension. The added benefit of doing this is that you'll actually save some time because the clamp will already be in place when you're done pulling tension.
 

el sergento

Hall of Fame
Really not much different than other suggestions like placing a Sharpie cap between the strings to hold them off so you can clamp them.

Irvin

The sharpie cap didn't work for me. Maybe I didn't have the right size, but the one I used would fly out when pulling tension. I was stringing at 60lbs, maybe at lower tensions it works fine.

Either way, the point of my method is to not have to rely on special tools, obviously other methods work just fine.
 
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Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
The sharpie cap didn't work for me. Maybe I didn't have the right size, but the one I used would fly out when pulling tension. I was stringing at 60lbs, maybe at lower tensions it works fine.

Either way, the point of my method is to not have to rely on special tools, obviously other methods work just fine.

That is why I do not use a Sharpie cap but many stringers do.

Irvin
 

Lakers4Life

Hall of Fame
Using a brake is the only recomended way to string a Prince O3 racket. Prince no longer sends out the boomerangs. Using you hip or body puts undue stress on the racket.

Every one suggests the Sharpie method, but they don't say which sharpie size? And where do you stick it in? The only one that seem to work for me is the Chisel Tip Sharpie that is oblong.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Using a brake is the only recomended way to string a Prince O3 racket...

And when you are using a light table top stringer with no break what do you do? I have a Wise tension head and when I use the break or hip method the Wise starts jumping. I do not think it is wise to pull tension at the angles created by rotation the racket.

Irvin
 

Lakers4Life

Hall of Fame
And when you are using a light table top stringer with no break what do you do? I have a Wise tension head and when I use the break or hip method the Wise starts jumping. I do not think it is wise to pull tension at the angles created by rotation the racket.

Irvin

These Prince rackets were not desigend to be strung on table top stringers without brakes. It's the machine that conforms to rackets not the other way around. Take glide bar machine, they can't do fan patterns. A brake can be upgraded to most table top machines. Here is an example of one:
4j5gtg.jpg
 

Steve Huff

G.O.A.T.
Since many clamps are "diamond dusted", or roughened up a little to hold the string better, I'd worry about damaging the string too. Irvin, I know what you mean about the Wise not liking to pull at an angle.
 

el sergento

Hall of Fame
Since many clamps are "diamond dusted", or roughened up a little to hold the string better, I'd worry about damaging the string too. Irvin, I know what you mean about the Wise not liking to pull at an angle.

Obviously I can't speak for every single type of clamp, but on mine it didn't do any detectable damage. With this method you pull tension when the clamp is open, therefore there really isn't that much friction. Also, the string only makes contact with the edge of the clamp teeth, it doesn't go in deeper into the clamp where the clamp could be "diamond dusted'.

All I can say is that I used the method for two O3's strung with a soft cross string, Gosen Sheep 17, and both have been played with without any problems for going on 10+ hours. YMMV
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Since many clamps are "diamond dusted", or roughened up a little to hold the string better, I'd worry about damaging the string too. Irvin, I know what you mean about the Wise not liking to pull at an angle.

I have seen on other posts in this forum that doing too many rackets using the brake or hip method damaged the tension head on other stringers. As soon as mine started having problems I never again tried either of those methods. I have my doubts that pulling the string at an angle is giving you a consistent tension also.

Irvin
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Can anyone post a picture of the "Sharpie Method" in action?

This is not an O port racket but this is how the cap is used. Placing the cap between the strings like this holds the string off so it can be clamped in a horizontal position.

HPIM29351.jpg


Irvin
 

LttlElvis

Professional
Thanks Irvin. I've never had any issues stringing O racquets. I don't like the brake on my Gamma but it works well enough. For some reason I thought the Sharpie method was to put it in the O port like a boomerang tool, but your method looks much simpler.
 

jim e

Legend
I have seen on other posts in this forum that doing too many rackets using the brake or hip method damaged the tension head on other stringers. As soon as mine started having problems I never again tried either of those methods. I have my doubts that pulling the string at an angle is giving you a consistent tension also.

Irvin

A couple years back on the gss site, someone there made a block with a pin going through it. It works nice, but the majority of the time, I still just use the brake as it is the easiest. The brake on my machine holds great!For those interested the block is 1 inch wide, 1/2 thick, and 1 1/2 inches long with a small pin going through it to stop it from falling through.
 
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Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Thanks Irvin. I've never had any issues stringing O racquets. I don't like the brake on my Gamma but it works well enough. For some reason I thought the Sharpie method was to put it in the O port like a boomerang tool, but your method looks much simpler.

LOL I did too the first time I heard of it. But no way ever a Sharpie cap will fit in any of th O ports that I know of and if it did it would fly out in a heartbeat. But you are correct the boomerang tool does fit into the O port.

Irvin
 

Lakers4Life

Hall of Fame
Thanks Irvin. I've never had any issues stringing O racquets. I don't like the brake on my Gamma but it works well enough. For some reason I thought the Sharpie method was to put it in the O port like a boomerang tool, but your method looks much simpler.

+1 That's a large Sharpie cap.

LittlE, The brake on my older 5003 was a PITA to lock down, but on my newer 6004 (not 2010 series brake), works quite well.
 

sruckauf

Professional
Just throwing in my $.02.

I have found using a Chapstick is better than the sharpie cap on some Ozone/O3/EXO3 racquets. It's a more solid instrument than the sharpie cap, and it's a nice smooth surface for the string to be up against.

I'm not saying it's the end-all replacement for the methods described here, but I've found it useful sometimes.

I'm still personally a fan of the 50/50 method described by Irvin.
 

Lakers4Life

Hall of Fame
That flying clamp gave me an idea, but I have no Prince O3 to string at the moment. If you clamped the last main string right the Teeth or Tines of the clamp could be enough to keep the cross separated. I also have an extra set of Gamma clamps I can use, too. I'll post pictures when I get a O3 for re-stringing.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Just throwing in my $.02.

I have found using a Chapstick is better than the sharpie cap on some Ozone/O3/EXO3 racquets.
...
I'm still personally a fan of the 50/50 method described by Irvin.

If I string two piece I always use the 50/50 method. If I am stringing one piece my first choice is the boomerang. If I don't have the boomerang I need, I use a 3/8 inch socket extension between the strings and not a sharpie cap. That is smooth steel and seems to work very well.

Irvin
 
This is not an O port racket but this is how the cap is used. Placing the cap between the strings like this holds the string off so it can be clamped in a horizontal position.

HPIM29351.jpg


Irvin

Some times a picture is worth a 1000 words. I was trying to put the sharpie cap inside the hole, so it never work.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
You know I was just thinking all these make shift tools and techniques work OK on the O port rackets but not on the ones that have the pin holes on the sides like the one below:

PXOR-3.JPG


Place a Sharpie cap between the crosses on one of those racket and you run the chance of ripping the grommet out. If you use the two piece 50/50 method or the boomerang tools you never have to worry about that.

Irvin
 

jim e

Legend
You know I was just thinking all these make shift tools and techniques work OK on the O port rackets but not on the ones that have the pin holes on the sides like the one below:

PXOR-3.JPG


Place a Sharpie cap between the crosses on one of those racket and you run the chance of ripping the grommet out. If you use the two piece 50/50 method or the boomerang tools you never have to worry about that.

Irvin

Those racquets always gets the brake!I must be fortunate that the brake holds well with the machine that I have.
 

leafscat

Rookie
Just throwing in my $.02.



I'm still personally a fan of the 50/50 method described by Irvin.


Couldn't agree more. I struggled with the hip method, sharpie cap and socket extension. None seemed to promote consistent stringing (I realize this is likely operator error). I have had great success and less headaches with the 50/50 method described by Irvin in other posts.

btw - not a huge fan of the YULitle 50/50 method as it seems a bit tedious.
 

struggle

Legend
Those racquets always gets the brake!I must be fortunate that the brake holds well with the machine that I have.

Jim_e/Irvin,

i just strung my 03 sp black (string hole grommets, like the yellow ones Irvin posted) and didn't bother with any braking/hipping/boomeranging/sharpie lids.

i figured it was ok with the hole grommets. should i NOT do this?
seemed to work fine.

thanks.
 
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Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Jim_e/Irvin,

i just strung my 03 sp black (string hole grommets, like the yellow ones Irvin posted) and didn't bother with any braking/hipping/boomeranging/sharpie lids.

i figured it was ok with the hole grommets. should i NOT do this?
seemed to work fine.

thanks.

I would not do that you are putting a lot of string on the grommets to hold the string off so you can clamp it like that. I would guess sooner or later you are going to rip or pull the grommets out of the frame.

Irvin
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
...btw - not a huge fan of the YULitle 50/50 method as it seems a bit tedious.

Actually the method YULitle uses is the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJxPjoH1_I

But what 'YULitle' is trying to do is balance the stress on the crosses by weaving and tensioning the crosses from the center up and down similar to what is done on the mains.

When I string an o port racket I string from the center up and then after the top half is complete I string from the center down. I do it this way for a completely different reason that what 'YULitle' is trying to explain in his video. If you want to balance the stress you could do it his way too. Except that his method is tedious and will take longer they are really the same.

Irvin
 

struggle

Legend
I would not do that you are putting a lot of string on the grommets to hold the string off so you can clamp it like that. I would guess sooner or later you are going to rip or pull the grommets out of the frame.

Irvin

STRESS on the grommets, you mean?

so use the brake, i'd reckon?

i do also have boomerang tools en route.

thx
 

David123

Hall of Fame
Actually the method YULitle uses is the same.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_QJxPjoH1_I

But what 'YULitle' is trying to do is balance the stress on the crosses by weaving and tensioning the crosses from the center up and down similar to what is done on the mains.

When I string an o port racket I string from the center up and then after the top half is complete I string from the center down. I do it this way for a completely different reason that what 'YULitle' is trying to explain in his video. If you want to balance the stress you could do it his way too. Except that his method is tedious and will take longer they are really the same.

Irvin

Sorry i haven't been really reading the last pages of post but what's the point of 50 50 for cross strings?
 

Sublime

Semi-Pro
Sorry i haven't been really reading the last pages of post but what's the point of 50 50 for cross strings?

In the case of the O3s, doing a 50/50 makes it so that all the crosses are being pulled away from 3 and 9 o'clock. So the strings get pulled against the port hole edges they will lay on.

Unless you have a good brake, this is the only way to do an O3 racket IMHO.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
STRESS on the grommets, you mean?

so use the brake, i'd reckon?

i do also have boomerang tools en route.

thx

Yes I think it would stress the grommets. Do use the boomerang tool I would not use the break because when you do that you are pulling the string from the tension head at an angle instead of straight as you can see in the picture below. Many many people do that but I would not.

th_HPIM29361.jpg


The closer to the top of the racket you are the greater the angle the closer to the center you are the less the angle. I do not think pulling from an angle like that is good for the tension head on your machine.

Irvin
 
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