Did the stringer make a mistake?

[BigLou]

Hoping someone can answer this.

I gave two racquets and my own string to a local stringer I haven’t used before. He has 25 yrs experience and the usual certifications.

My instructions were: one type of poly string but with mains 48lbs and crosses 50lbs. I explained to him that I wanted to lock the string bed to lower the trajectory of the ball. This is what I always do.

I got my racquets back and I saw he has used one piece stringing. The receipt says 48M and 50C.

I have queried this because I didn’t know it was possible to achieve different string tensions in the mains and the crosses with one piece. I asked a direct question whether my crosses in the centre of my stringbed are 2lbs higher than the mains. His answer on WhatsApp is:

“The friction between strings and strings/frame is huge and holds the tension with very little slippage. I always add extra 2 lbs to the top 2 and bottom 2 crosses as an buffer. The crosses will start at 2 lbs higher for sure. Both mains and crosses lose tension as you play so the difference may change depending upon the rate of tension loss for the mains and crosses. When you break a string the neighbouring 1 or 2 strings lose tension but further away the tension holds unless you release the friction by moving them.”

Now to me that sounds like a very fancy way of saying “Er, no I forgot” but I’m a cynical lawyer and not a professional stringer.

When I tap the strings, one is a little tighter than the other but that could be overnight tension loss.

I was expecting a very simply 2-piece job with mains at 48 and crosses at 50. That’s how my usual guy always does it. Like you’d do a hybrid, just using the same string.

Have I got what I paid for?
Thanks a lot.


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[beltsman]

Hmm

 

[emhtennis]

I am not a professional stringer. But I feel the same as you.

Whether you directly stated it or not, asking for two different tensions implies two piece stringing. I think your guy just didn't want to tie knots.

I'd see how it plays and then go from there.

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[BigLou]

Thank you. I will. He has since said that he started with the mains and then increased the tension before he started the crosses. I didn’t know that was possible with one piece.

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[emhtennis]

I mean, you can do it. But depending on how he strung the one piece job that last main may have more tension than 48lbs.

But between the grommets and the weave, there is a lot of inherent friction on a frame so the stringbed will probably feel how you want it to.

I would just deliberately ask for 2 piece steinging next time. Or to be passive aggressive, cut the pack of string in half and ask for the "same thing as last time".

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[esm]

also - just be aware that different stringer with different stringing machine(s) may produce slightly different result..
best to have a hit and see if this suits you. if not, have a word with the new stringer and insist on what you prefer with the previous stringer... and take it from there.
it can be a "learning curve" with a new stringer. good luck

 

[shamaho]

It's just mis-communication and him assuming you asked for something else...:

My guess is, crosses are 50lbs as you asked except for the top and bottom 2 crosses which were strung at 52

 

[blablavla]

Hoping someone can answer this.

I gave two racquets and my own string to a local stringer I haven’t used before. He has 25 yrs experience and the usual certifications.

My instructions were: one type of poly string but with mains 48lbs and crosses 50lbs. I explained to him that I wanted to lock the string bed to lower the trajectory of the ball. This is what I always do.

I got my racquets back and I saw he has used one piece stringing. The receipt says 48M and 50C.

I have queried this because I didn’t know it was possible to achieve different string tensions in the mains and the crosses with one piece. I asked a direct question whether my crosses in the centre of my stringbed are 2lbs higher than the mains. His answer on WhatsApp is:

“The friction between strings and strings/frame is huge and holds the tension with very little slippage. I always add extra 2 lbs to the top 2 and bottom 2 crosses as an buffer. The crosses will start at 2 lbs higher for sure. Both mains and crosses lose tension as you play so the difference may change depending upon the rate of tension loss for the mains and crosses. When you break a string the neighbouring 1 or 2 strings lose tension but further away the tension holds unless you release the friction by moving them.”

Now to me that sounds like a very fancy way of saying “Er, no I forgot” but I’m a cynical lawyer and not a professional stringer.

When I tap the strings, one is a little tighter than the other but that could be overnight tension loss.

I was expecting a very simply 2-piece job with mains at 48 and crosses at 50. That’s how my usual guy always does it. Like you’d do a hybrid, just using the same string.

Have I got what I paid for?
Thanks a lot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

if you watch videos how to string the racket, that's what many stringers say, including some that apparently are working for the brands ATP Tour stringers
"The friction between strings is huge and holds the tension with very little slippage"
so, in some videos, some of the stringers, for this reason, don't even bother to tension the last cross string.

It is as well quite common to have additional tension applied to the last main strings and last cross strings.

So far, nothing that would seem outrageous.

The only part that needs to be clarified, is whether you do feel the difference between the 1 piece stringing and 2 piece stringing and whether your racket is in the list of rackets where 1 piece stringing is OK.
Although, from my past, which means stringing before You Tube was available, I have seen a ton of rackets strung with 1 piece method, and in the past they would be just fine after many cycles.
Of course once a while stress cracks may appear, but before blaming the stringer, you need to ensure that the player never hit the racket against the ground or something similar.

So, if you want to be on the safe side, or if you do feel the difference, then next time, explicitly ask for the 2 piece stringing method.

And as mentioned above, usage of different machines, might by itself result in different result, so before blaming the 1 piece vs 2 piece stringing, you might need to find the right tension with the new stringer, assuming that you can feel the difference simply by playing, without other measurement devices.

 

[408tennisguy]

Nothing out of the ordinary. I do One piece stringing and just adjust my tensioner before I start doing the crosses. I also increase the string that needs to be knotted by 5lbs because I pull my knots manually. Never had any problems doing it this way.

 

[jxs653]

he started with the mains and then increased the tension before he started the crosses.

This is what I always do. I string crosses a few pounds tighter and string one-piece.

 

[Steve Huff]

The USRSA says that there is enough friction in the grommets on the outside of the frame to keep tensions from "evening out". So, as far as doing a 1-piece, that shouldn't change the tension. He should still string the crosses from top to bottom, so it depends on what racket you use as to whether he did that, or if he strung from bottom to top (which Babolat and Wilson allow). What he's trying to tell you about the crosses is that the main strings create a lot of friction when the crosses are strung (mains had very little friction as they weren't weaved around another string). So, even if you request 2 pounds more for the crosses, they'll still come out looser than the mains. I don't remember the amount of friction loss there is (different strings, gauges, and density of the pattern would all contribute to differences), but it is a lot more than most people would suspect. I think your stringer did what he was supposed to do (if he did the crosses from top to bottom).

 

[BigLou]

Thanks all for the replies. Great knowledge on here as ever. They played great so I guess no complaints. I will ask for 2 piece next time though. Strings were Gosen Sidewinder 17 in one, Volkl V-Star 17 in the other. Matched pair of weighted-up Wilson Clash 100.


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[g4driver]

Whether you directly stated it or not, asking for two different tensions implies two-piece stringing.

No it doesn't. Stringing the mains and crosses at different tensions has nothing at all to do with the type of stringing (one-piece or two-piece). Asking for 48M and 50X means exactly that, nothing more, nothing less. A Weed 135 requires three difference tensions on the top three crosses and bottom three crosses. You simply set the tension before you pull each string. Most constant pull machines have a "Knot" button which increases the tension by a %. For my Alpha Ghost, the "Knot" options up the tension by 10%, and I use it on all four outer strings, whether I tie a knot or don't. The outer mains and the top and bottom cross have only one string next to them. Biggest complaint I heard from many players is loose strings on the outer mains and top/bottom crosses. Being doing this for 10+ years without any complaints from any client.

 

[emhtennis]

No it doesn't. Stringing the mains and crosses at different tensions has nothing at all to do with the type of stringing (one-piece or two-piece). Asking for 48M and 50X means exactly that, nothing more, nothing less.

Well, that's why I've strung my own rackets for 20 years. I never fail to follow my assumptions about myself [emoji12]

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[1HBHfanatic]

-my 2 cents from my experience
-the tension loss from mains to crosses is very little, so little in fact that you cannot see it
-to test this, paint your strings and see how much the strings move over time (no hitting),,
-if there was considerable string tension creep!!??, the stencil logo we apply to freshly strung racquets would be all over the place,
-"for the most part", the string stencil paint does not drift left/right by means of tension loss/ string creep
-the friction between grommets and string intersections is enough to stop most movement

-i do however suggest that for future stringing, make it a point to request 2piece specifically!! ,"for your own peace of mind"
-because, now you are going to be thinking of ,"this" every time you hit the ball long/out
-ball going out/long is not necessarily the stringer issue, but it will be in that back of your mind

 

[jmacdaununder2]

No it doesn't. Stringing the mains and crosses at different tensions has nothing at all to do with the type of stringing (one-piece or two-piece). Asking for 48M and 50X means exactly that, nothing more, nothing less. A Weed 135 requires three difference tensions on the top three crosses and bottom three crosses. You simply set the tension before you pull each string. Most constant pull machines have a "Knot" button which increases the tension by a %. For my Alpha Ghost, the "Knot" options up the tension by 10%, and I use it on all four outer strings, whether I tie a knot or don't. The outer mains and two and bottom cross, have only one string next to them. Biggest complaint I heard from many players is loose strings on the outer mains and top/bottom crosses. Being doing this for 10+ years without any complaints from any client.

Yep, I always up the tension on the last mains and cross; in my experience there are many people out there that use this as a measuring stick to determine restring quality.

 

[pverissimo]

"The friction between strings is huge and holds the tension with very little slippage"
so, in some videos, some of the stringers, for this reason, don't even bother to tension the last cross string.

Į have never seen this and don't think a professional stringer would do that.

 

[LocNetMonster]

... in my experience there are many people out there that use this as a measuring stick to determine restring quality.

Before I started stringing, I use to do that with the same misconception. I asked my stringer about it and he said, "If you are hitting the ball with that string, you have a lot more to worry about."

 

[jmacdaununder2]

Upping the tension on the ‘last’ mains and cross is a quick and simple way to allow for the tension that is lost when tying off.

 

[anarosevoli]

When cutting out poly strings clockwise inside to outside the 2nd last ones often still have enough tension to slightly hurt my left hand which holds the frame during cutting, so I guess the stringer is right, the friction between frame and poly string is very high.

 

[SavvyStringer]

Hoping someone can answer this.

I gave two racquets and my own string to a local stringer I haven’t used before. He has 25 yrs experience and the usual certifications.

My instructions were: one type of poly string but with mains 48lbs and crosses 50lbs. I explained to him that I wanted to lock the string bed to lower the trajectory of the ball. This is what I always do.

I got my racquets back and I saw he has used one piece stringing. The receipt says 48M and 50C.

I have queried this because I didn’t know it was possible to achieve different string tensions in the mains and the crosses with one piece. I asked a direct question whether my crosses in the centre of my stringbed are 2lbs higher than the mains. His answer on WhatsApp is:

“The friction between strings and strings/frame is huge and holds the tension with very little slippage. I always add extra 2 lbs to the top 2 and bottom 2 crosses as an buffer. The crosses will start at 2 lbs higher for sure. Both mains and crosses lose tension as you play so the difference may change depending upon the rate of tension loss for the mains and crosses. When you break a string the neighbouring 1 or 2 strings lose tension but further away the tension holds unless you release the friction by moving them.”

Now to me that sounds like a very fancy way of saying “Er, no I forgot” but I’m a cynical lawyer and not a professional stringer.

When I tap the strings, one is a little tighter than the other but that could be overnight tension loss.

I was expecting a very simply 2-piece job with mains at 48 and crosses at 50. That’s how my usual guy always does it. Like you’d do a hybrid, just using the same string.

Have I got what I paid for?
Thanks a lot.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

While it is uncommon to string a hybrid tension as a one piece it can be done and does not effect play. The tension won’t disperse from the crosses and change anything. Having said that, I wouldn’t string a hybrid tension one piece unless specifically requested.