My first string job

[Tennis Man]

So here I am, finally with a stringer. Pls, welcome me to the board.

Here's my first string job. All I did before I started stringing is read the manual and found a string pattern for my only unstrung frame, a wierd PS ROK with its dense string pattern and grommets tightly placed on the head.

I struggled a bit with the tangling string (Prince Syn Gut) and drop weight arm at first trying to be super careful but after a few main it became very easy. The problem started when I started weaving crosses. Without any experience, I found it very hard at first (note: the tight pattern), then I skipped a few weaves, quickly found and fixed the problem and finally, when my back was about to break, after 2:20 hour of torture, I was done.

Hopefully my next string job will be one of my PS 90 and I will try to put some poly in it.

 

[aroddick]

nice job. Only if i could have stringing machine to learn and string. Looks kind of fun.

 

[Tennis Man]

nice job. Only if i could have stringing machine to learn and string. Looks kind of fun.

Yeah, everybody says it's fun and it's true but I wouldn't string for somebody. It's too much work. The reason I got it is to string for myself and to control the process and the outcome .

Next think is to learn 2-piece.

 

[LttlElvis]

Congratulations Rafaello. Stringing is fun and there is a good feeling of accomplishment for a job well done. Once you get the hang of it, you won't find it to be too much work. I guarantee you, you will start stringing for other people.

FYI: You probably may want to string that Wilson in 2 pieces next time. The general rule is the crosses should be strung from head to throat unless the manufacturer allows 1 piece stringing.

Have fun.

 

[WhiteSox05CA]

How long did it take you? I am contemplating getting a cheap stringer. What did you think of the SP Swing, and were the insructions clear? Was the tension accurate?

 

[Voltron]

Congrats, two piece is actually easier. No long string to deal with.

 

[theace21]

Taking 2 hours for the first job is not the unusual. After a few, you will quickly be under an hour. The first few are the hardest. Good luck...

 

[Tennis Man]

Thank you, guys. I feel so good now. Now, I just need to win a few torunaments and I'll be a pro .

 

[meh]

Those are some very nicely-done knots, especially for a first-time stringer. The ROK is a bit challenging because the pattern is so dense, so I'm sure your times will be much better with the Tour 90.

 

[xtremerunnerars]

Don't be discouraged. I strung my first in 2:15 w/ a dropweight and now i'm down to 1:20 just 2 racquets later.

I really really like stringing now that I know what i'm doing!

 

[Tennis Man]

Don't be discouraged. I strung my first in 2:15 w/ a dropweight and now i'm down to 1:20 just 2 racquets later.

I really really like stringing now that I know what i'm doing!

Hey, I'm not discouraged. I had fun. It's a great pleasure knowing that you do it yourself. Even my stringer (now former) praised me .

 

[Richie Rich]

FYI: You probably may want to string that Wilson in 2 pieces next time. The general rule is the crosses should be strung from head to throat unless the manufacturer allows 1 piece stringing.

YES. please, top down. for the sake of your racquets!

Good job, BTW. my first racquet took me about the same time as you and it only gets faster. I have a drop weight too and I'm down to 30 minutes and I'n not rushing either.

Just wait till you do your first poly job. then you are really going to enjoy yourself :mrgreen:

 

[Tennis Man]

YES. please, top down. for the sake of your racquets!

Good job, BTW. my first racquet took me about the same time as you and it only gets faster. I have a drop weight too and I'm down to 30 minutes and I'n not rushing either.

Just wait till you do your first poly job. then you are really going to enjoy yourself :mrgreen:

Is it really supposed to be top down? I just followed the string pattern. How could I make this mistake (went to cut the string )

 

[aussie]

Well done Rafaello. It is not necessarily a mistake to string from the bottom up in one piece. I have strung a Prince TT Scream with 2 piece (crosses top down), 1 piece with crosses bottom up and 1 piece ATW with crosses top down and the frame was not overly stressed by any of these methods. Playability was identical as well.

Many stringers prefer to string the crosses top down as the more crosses you string in a frame the more the stress is placed on the hoop leading to possible deformation. As the throat is the strongest part of the hoop, it is considered advantageous to string the crosses towards the throat which is more capable of resisting the increasing level of stress.

But many stringers at pro shops where I've had many frames strung over many years just string 1 piece with crosses bottom to top (Yonex frames included) and I've never seen any problems.

But I like to string 2 piece because it's easier to manage the string, and I string the crosses top down just in case!!

 

[dlo]

I am just curious, but can I string from bottom up using a 6 point mount?

 

[VGP]

Is it really supposed to be top down? I just followed the string pattern. How could I make this mistake (went to cut the string )

You didn't have to do that. That wasn't a mistake. You followed the proper stringing pattern for one-piece on the ROK.

I guess you'll be getting more practice on that frame sooner than you thought.....

 

[Nuke]

Are those the flying clamps that Silent Partner is sending out with the Swing now? Mine are the black ones shown on their website.

 

[Tennis Man]

Are those the flying clamps that Silent Partner is sending out with the Swing now? Mine are the black ones shown on their website.

So which ones are better? Also, anybody wants to give me any tips on working with SP Swing? ... appreciated.

 

[Nuke]

The new clamps look pretty similar to the old ones, except for the color and the Alpha label. If they hold your string without slipping, then no difference.

Tips? Well, if you followd SP's instructions, then you should know that that green arrow on the counterweight (in your photo) is on the wrong side. You read the scale on the side of the weight closest to the gripper, so the arrow is really in the wrong place. I wonder if folks get confused and read the scale at the arrow instead of the near end of the weight. That will definitely throw off your tension.

Make sure when you put the rod on the gripper drum that you catch the hole with the allen screw. If you just put the rod in all the way, the arm will be in a little too far, and the weight will be off a small amount. You need to back the rod out a little to catch the allen screw in the hole.

 

[Tennis Man]

The new clamps look pretty similar to the old ones, except for the color and the Alpha label. If they hold your string without slipping, then no difference.

Tips? Well, if you followd SP's instructions, then you should know that that green arrow on the counterweight (in your photo) is on the wrong side. You read the scale on the side of the weight closest to the gripper, so the arrow is really in the wrong place. I wonder if folks get confused and read the scale at the arrow instead of the near end of the weight. That will definitely throw off your tension.

I do set the tension at the bottom of the weight as the instruction says. As for Tennis arrow on the weight all it says is that the both wgts are for tennis and the lower one by itself is for badminton.

Make sure when you put the rod on the gripper drum that you catch the hole with the allen screw. If you just put the rod in all the way, the arm will be in a little too far, and the weight will be off a small amount. You need to back the rod out a little to catch the allen screw in the hole.

Yeah, this is a wierd one. The screw is very short and goes dip into the rod leaving a big hole.

Anything else?
How about the horizontal positioning of the weight? I kinda found it a bit wierd that I have to hold it horizontally with one hand while I'm attching the clamp.

 

[Nuke]

How about the horizontal positioning of the weight? I kinda found it a bit wierd that I have to hold it horizontally with one hand while I'm attching the clamp.

Huh? You shouldn't be touching the weight at all when you set your clamps. You adjust the weight so that it's horizontal with hands off, and then you place your clamp.

 

[Tennis Man]

Huh? You shouldn't be touching the weight at all when you set your clamps. You adjust the weight so that it's horizontal with hands off, and then you place your clamp.

Oh, noooo. I missed it. It does say in the manual that I have to adjust the arm to horizontal by using the clutch .

I guess I got a bit higher tension than b/c the weight was going down more by default. You saved me from damaging my better frames. Thanks.

 

[Tennis Man]

Thanks, Nuke for sharing all your secrets with me .

Anybody else using SP Swing?

 

[varuscelli]

Hey, Rafaello, welcome to the stringing machines forum! Great that you got yourself a machine.

If you haven't yet seen the Stinging Machine Photo Library, I'd like you to consider contributing some photos of your SP machine. I don't have anything yet contributed from a user of the SP Swing, so if you'd have the time or inclination to send me some photos to post there, I'd love it.

The Silent Parter machines that I have posted so far can be seen here:

http://www.photostringer.com/silent_partner.htm

Let me know if you'd like to send some photos in.

Thanks!

Al Ruscelli
vruscelli@houston.rr.com

 

[Tennis Man]

Hey, Rafaello, welcome to the stringing machines forum! Great that you got yourself a machine.

If you haven't yet seen the Stinging Machine Photo Library, I'd like you to consider contributing some photos of your SP machine. I don't have anything yet contributed from a user of the SP Swing, so if you'd have the time or inclination to send me some photos to post there, I'd love it.

The Silent Parter machines that I have posted so far can be seen here:

http://www.photostringer.com/silent_partner.htm

Let me know if you'd like to send some photos in.

Thanks!

Al Ruscelli
vruscelli@houston.rr.com

Hey, Al, this is awesome. Will do. I'll take some good shots tomorrow for you and send them to ya. BTW, I did visit your site a few times and was so overwhelmed that I postponed purchasing a stringer for a year

j/k. As a matter of fact that's why I decided to buy it.

 

[varuscelli]

Hey, Al, this is awesome. Will do. I'll take some good shots tomorrow for you and send them to ya. BTW, I did visit your site a few times and was so overwhelmed that I postponed purchasing a stringer for a year

j/k. As a matter of fact that's why I decided to buy it.

Great! Although I'm not sure how to refer to you now.

The Tennis Player Formerly Known as Rafaello But Now Known as Tennis Man The Stringer?



If you want to, you could wait until you're stringing a racquet and you can send me some shots of the machine alone and the machine with a racquet mounted in it (like earlier in the thread). I've gradually come to the conclusion that it's nicer to see the machines both with and without a racquet mounted, when it's possible. Not a requirement, just something to think about.

But cool! Take your time and e-mail me when you want to send something.

I'm so swamped with my "real" work right now I am putting a bunch of stringing machine photos that I have on hold so that I can get get caught up. But probably in another week I'll start posting photos again. Now I'm behind on that, too. Argh!

 

[xtremerunnerars]

judging by how many racquets you have, i am sure that your stringer LOVES you. When he was praising you, i'm sure that a little part of him (and his wallet ) died on the inside.



lol

 

[Tennis Man]

Great! Although I'm not sure how to refer to you now.

The Tennis Player Formerly Known as Rafaello But Now Known as Tennis Man The Stringer?



If you want to, you could wait until you're stringing a racquet and you can send me some shots of the machine alone and the machine with a racquet mounted in it (like earlier in the thread). I've gradually come to the conclusion that it's nicer to see the machines both with and without a racquet mounted, when it's possible. Not a requirement, just something to think about.

But cool! Take your time and e-mail me when you want to send something.

I'm so swamped with my "real" work right now I am putting a bunch of stringing machine photos that I have on hold so that I can get get caught up. But probably in another week I'll start posting photos again. Now I'm behind on that, too. Argh!

N.P., will do. Just call me the Tennis Man for now unless TW agrees to change it from rafaello to something else.

When I string my nPro JUMBO next time, I will try to take some pictures like these:

 

[Tennis Man]

judging by how many racquets you have, i am sure that your stringer LOVES you. When he was praising you, i'm sure that a little part of him (and his wallet ) died on the inside.

lol

Sorry, I pay him so little that he was about to dump me himself .

 

[Tennis Man]

Sorry, I pay him so little that he was about to dump me himself .

j/k, that was my biggest financial burden so far .

 

[xtremerunnerars]

Huh? You shouldn't be touching the weight at all when you set your clamps. You adjust the weight so that it's horizontal with hands off, and then you place your clamp.

I don't think my weight will sit horizontal....will it? I've always braced it with my arm on the table or had something it rested on.

 

[Tennis Man]

I don't think my weight will sit horizontal....will it? I've always braced it with my arm on the table or had something it rested on.

Yes, it will. Read the manual. You have to hold the clutch and adjust the arm until it''s horizontal.

 

[dancraig]

I don't think my weight will sit horizontal....will it? I've always braced it with my arm on the table or had something it rested on.

The arm resting at near horizontal, completely untouched, is central and essential to getting desired tension. The whole function of the machine is based around this.