Bottom to Top and The Digest

[davidahenry]

I know the general rule of thumb among stringers is... If a racquet's pattern has the mains ending at the throat, then either go ATW in order order to string the crosses top to bottom OR string it two piece in order to string the crosses top to bottom.

With that said, I have been stringing a few Wilson racquets lately where the mains end at the throat. I have been ignoring the above mentioned rule of thumb and stringing them one piece with the crosses going from bottom to top. I have done this for several reasons...

1. The USRSA's Stringer's Digest states that it can be strung one piece bottom to top or two piece top to bottom. (It doesn't explicitly state that it can be strung ATW, but that is a given, I guess.)

2. If The Digest lists the one piece bottom to top pattern, then I know it must also be acceptable according to the racquet manufacture's guidelines (or the USRSA would never endorse it).

3. The racquet was previously strung one piece bottom to top by another stringer prior to me, and since the customer was perfectly satisfied with the performance of the string job (switched to me due to geographical proximity), I didn't want to introduce two piece stringing - I wanted to duplicate his previous string job as best I could.

4. I am a little gun-shy about going ATW - since I have never done it previously.

So to wrap up this post... Is stringing one piece bottom to top, in situations where The Digest states it is appropriate, truly appropriate?

Thanks.

DH

 

[jim e]

I know the general rule of thumb among stringers is... If a racquet's pattern has the mains ending at the throat, then either go ATW in order order to string the crosses top to bottom OR string it two piece in order to string the crosses top to bottom.

With that said, I have been stringing a few Wilson racquets lately where the mains end at the throat. I have been ignoring the above mentioned rule of thumb and stringing them one piece with the crosses going from bottom to top. I have done this for several reasons...

1. The USRSA's Stringer's Digest states that it can be strung one piece bottom to top or two piece top to bottom. (It doesn't explicitly state that it can be strung ATW, but that is a given, I guess.)

2. If The Digest lists the one piece bottom to top pattern, then I know it must also be acceptable according to the racquet manufacture's guidelines (or the USRSA would never endorse it).

3. The racquet was previously strung one piece bottom to top by another stringer prior to me, and since the customer was perfectly satisfied with the performance of the string job (switched to me due to geographical proximity), I didn't want to introduce two piece stringing - I wanted to duplicate his previous string job as best I could.

4. I am a little gun-shy about going ATW - since I have never done it previously.

So to wrap up this post... Is stringing one piece bottom to top, in situations where The Digest states it is appropriate, truly appropriate?

Thanks.

DH

Hi David: I agree that the digest puts in the manuf. specifications, and it is fine to follow that.Your # 1. . I agree with.
I do not agree with your #3, example, last week someone dropped of an older Prince racquet that was strung bottom up as 1 piece, and I will not duplicate that, as I never want to risk to damage anothers racquet, even though someone else got away with it. The digest only had it listed as 2 piece, and top down, so I did it as 2 piece. I could have done an ATW, and sometimes that is what I would do, but not string bottom up when it is called for top down.

On Head racquets I will not even do an ATW after reading Greg Ravens article in Aug. 2008 RSI mag. as this was from there:
"HEAD requires that every performance racquet they sell must be strung two-piece, period. With a properly-done two-piece string job, you avoid not only having the crosses installed from the throat to the head, but also any potential problem that might occur with an around-the-world or box pattern, where you might have a 90- or 270-degree turn between a main and a cross, which could break through a section of the frame where the grommets are close together. Because of this, in the unlikely event there was a problem with this frame, Head would have the option of denying the warranty claim due to the one-piece string job".

 

[tennisfreak15347]

stringing top to bottom, bottom to top, will not give a noticable difference in regards to playability for that wilson racquet. you should be able to do it fine for now. However, I do advise that you improve your confidence on ATW stringing whenever the situation rises again on a racquet that does not approve of bottom-top stringing.

 

[davidahenry]

Hi David: I agree that the digest puts in the manuf. specifications, and it is fine to follow that.Your # 1. . I agree with.
I do not agree with your #3, example, last week someone dropped of an older Prince racquet that was strung bottom up as 1 piece, and I will not duplicate that, as I never want to risk to damage anothers racquet, even though someone else got away with it. The digest only had it listed as 2 piece, and top down, so I did it as 2 piece. I could have done an ATW, and sometimes that is what I would do, but not string bottom up when it is called for top down.

Hey Jim - I should have clarified... I would follow what a previous stringer did ONLY if The Digest also said it was ok. If The Digest didn't recommend a certain pattern, I would NEVER do it - regardless of what a previous stringer did. I think you and I are on the same page on this - I just didn't make my post clear enough.

On Head racquets I will not even do an ATW after reading Greg Ravens article in Aug. 2008 RSI mag. as this was from there:
"HEAD requires that every performance racquet they sell must be strung two-piece, period. With a properly-done two-piece string job, you avoid not only having the crosses installed from the throat to the head, but also any potential problem that might occur with an around-the-world or box pattern, where you might have a 90- or 270-degree turn between a main and a cross, which could break through a section of the frame where the grommets are close together. Because of this, in the unlikely event there was a problem with this frame, Head would have the option of denying the warranty claim due to the one-piece string job".

Part of me thinks I should just do two piece on everything. As you've stated on several occasions, as long as you can tie a good, cinched up knot, then two piece jobs are just as good (if not better) than one piece jobs.

Take care.

DH

 

[Eiffel59]

Having been part of either the Babolat and the Tecnifibre stringing teams i'd go with their advice..always go for 2-piece stringing as long as the grommets permit it..there are instances <Pure Storm and a few others> in which there are only 4 large grommets so if you want an hybrid you have to manually enlarge one of the remaining...but on a fullbed i'd go one-piece with these. So..basically always 2-pieces stringing, except when otherwise stated..even if i prefer ATW to "regular" bottom-to-top stringing method

Regards

Mario

 

[dancraig]

I think many of us just aren't comfortable with bottom/up stringing, even if the racquet company says it's OK.

 

[davidahenry]

Having been part of either the Babolat and the Tecnifibre stringing teams i'd go with their advice..always go for 2-piece stringing as long as the grommets permit it..there are instances <Pure Storm and a few others> in which there are only 4 large grommets so if you want an hybrid you have to manually enlarge one of the remaining...but on a fullbed i'd go one-piece with these. So..basically always 2-pieces stringing, except when otherwise stated..even if i prefer ATW to "regular" bottom-to-top stringing method

Thanks Mario. Another question...

For the Babolat and Tecnifibre teams, do they still almost always recommend two piece stringing - even if the mains end at the head?

Take care.

DH

 

[Eiffel59]

Thanks Mario. Another question...

For the Babolat and Tecnifibre teams, do they still almost always recommend two piece stringing - even if the mains end at the head?

Take care.

DH

Yes if not stated otherwise by the racquet maker or specifically required by the player...they still agree with ATW stringing however.