Gut/Poly hybrid. Cutting out and replacing the poly crosses after some time to restore tension to the gut mains!? Possible?

[Radical Shot]

I've played a lot with gut/poly hybrid stringing...particularly with Pro Staff's (think Roger), and I'm almost convinced that this is the best string job for a Pro Staff. After some time however, the gut strings eventually start to distort and seem to lose tension which is expected and normal (that is if they don't break in the meantime)

Due to the cost of VS Team gut, I'm wondering if restringing the crosses will somehow restore a bit of tension the gut mains and slightly improve the longevity of the string job (I string my own racquets). I'm concerned that restringing the poly crosses at the original tension will distort / damage the frame because of the tension differential.

Has anyone does this? If so, what tension did you string the crosses when the gut mains are already obviously at a lower tension?

Did it improve the tension of the gut mains...or are they lost forever!?

 

[JohnnyC]

Controversial topic.

Is it possible? Yes. Mount the racket tightly in the stringer, cut and remove the crosses, reweave opposite sides.

Does it help? Yes, for sure, but the stringbed won’t feel quite the same, and won’t do anything for the mains tension.

I restring my crosses all the time if the gut is in ok shape at the same tension they were originally. I restring crosses every 2, maybe 3, weeks, and that buys me another 1-2 weeks of use before playability gets wild or the gut breaks.

 

[Chairman3]

Definitely possible.
Had it done on my Ultra Tour, the ALU crosses were done decidedly quickly. Had them replaced and the stringbed felt alot better again.

Not a gut user, so that's just one instance from me. My stringer said as long as the gut isn't too worn/notched it isn't much of an issue.

 

[Radical Shot]

Does it help? Yes, for sure, but the stringbed won’t feel quite the same, and won’t do anything for the mains tension.

I restring my crosses all the time if the gut is in ok shape at the same tension they were originally.

Thanks for your response - the highlighted parts are the key points for me. The gut in my racquet has definitely lost a bit of tension, despite being in reasonable shape.

Nevertheless, I have nothing to lose...so I'll give it a go anyway and see what happens.

 

[JustTennis76]

I just did that couple of days ago to try out a different cross but I suggest not to do it. Apart from having variation in tension and a pain to just pull the crosses out, the string bed didn’t perform consistently. I just did it so to try a different cross than my regular just to get a feel for it. The gut already had 30 hours on it. I’ll cut everything out and restring this weekend.

 

[Nate7-5]

I do this all of the time and go down 1lb in the crosses from the original tension. I like to use a cross with a shorter lifespan or a new one to test for 6-8hrs first, then change them with something like Max Power/4Gsoft to ride it out until the end. Also, it the gut is notched you can do a reverse weave and use the other side.

 

[ClownCar96]

Been doing it since I started stringing... no problems.

 

[WYK]

No problems here, either. Just bear in mind the gut will have lost several pounds of tension depending on how hard hit and how long it's been in the frame and hot and humid etc.
So I string the crosses depending on how the mains feel after I remove the old crosses(along with knowledge of the original tension). This takes some experience to get the feel right.
Also, remember to tie the crosses off on to crosses if possible. It puts less strain on the gut mains and is easier to remove and redo the crosses.
And, of course, mount the racquet before removing the crosses.