New to stringing with question.

[Hangman]

I just ordered a Gamma Progression II 602FC stringing machine. I have not strung before so this will be my first experience with stringing. Reason I purchased this machine was due to some bad stringing jobs from a very large local store here in Houston. I recently purchased 2 Pure Drive racquets for my son. After the last one got restrung, I noticed that it didn't feel right when hitting. After comparison, the newly strung racquet was over 1/4" longer than the other racquet and the head shaped was narrower (squeezed inward from the sides). Fearing that it might damage the racquet, I decided to cut the strings. As soon as I cut the strings, I can immediately see the racquet head pop out back into normal shape and the length went back to exactly 27" like the other racquet. I did contact the store, but was told since I cut the strings, tough luck... That was a quick $50 wasted for the string and labor. Since I also restrung two of my other racquets at that same time, I checked and the other racquets has tie offs that were not tied on the correct grommets. This is not a big deal, but just makes me mad that they paid so little attention to what they are doing.

My question is, what would cause the string job to squeeze the rackets inward to increase its length like that and what I should look out for/do to prevent that from happening when I string my racquets?

Thanks in advance..

 

[esgee48]

Too narrow means the frame was not mounted properly or they used the wrong tension on the crosses. They could also have screwed up the tension in the mains [lower due to double pulls] and had the tension in the crosses too tight. Was it a 2 piece string job? Hard to say exactly. Most string jobs compress or shorten the frame a little [0-2 mm] if done properly. Anything else and I would say they did a hybrid. 3 cents.

With your description of their string jobs, it could be all-of-the-above.

edit: If you plan to string the PDs, pay attention to the labels on the frame. The newer ones can only be strung one way.

 

[Hangman]

Too narrow means the frame was not mounted properly or they used the wrong tension on the crosses. They could also have screwed up the tension in the mains [lower due to double pulls] and had the tension in the crosses too tight. Was it a 2 piece string job? Hard to say exactly. Most string jobs compress or shorten the frame a little [0-2 mm] if done properly. Anything else and I would say they did a hybrid. 3 cents.

With your description of their string jobs, it could be all-of-the-above.

edit: If you plan to string the PDs, pay attention to the labels on the frame. The newer ones can only be strung one way.

Thank you, yes it was a 2 piece string job. I am planning to string the PDs. I am looking at the frame now and only see a Start knot label on the top of the frame. I assume that's the tie off for starting the crosses. There are no other labels on the frame as to the tie offs for the mains or anything towards the bottom grommets like there are on my Prince racquets. I do see that two larger grommets towards the bottom on each side though so I assume those are the tie offs for the mains and the finishing tie offs for the crosses.

 

[Irvin]

There are a couple of things that could cause your racket to be deformed. First is the racket isn’t mounted properly you could distort the frame before you run in the first string. Many new stringers want to make sure the racket is secured tight so they won’t break it. Guess what? The racket should be mounted so there is no distortion in any direction. You’ll see when your stringer arrives how easy it is to do.

Another is the pressure built up on the length and width of the frame as your sting the racket. Having an 18 main racket compared to a 16 main racket put more pressure from the head to throat. To be on the safe side find the Stringway Online Tension Advisor and use their recommendations for main and cross tension.

 

[RyanRF]

It takes a lot of force to deform a racquet by 1/4". That makes me think the tension is off.

For example if all 19 crosses of racquet A are 5 lbs higher than racquet B , it's like an extra ~100 lbs of squeezing the frame.

What could cause the huge discrepancy? A lot of things and it's hard to be sure. Maybe they dialed in the wrong number. Maybe the string slipped in the clamps.

 

[esgee48]

I assume that's the tie off for starting the crosses.

Yep! In prior iterations of the PD, it did not matter which side you started the crosses. If you look closely at the bumper guard and the side strips, they are now asymmetric. You can only start on one side to tie down the ends of the bumper guard. A BIG step backwards and a PITA if you do ATW one piece patterns. It means I have to ensure that the long side is on the side of the starting knot [at least for me.] Prince and some Dunlop models have this stupidity.

You should have 2 grommets for tying off mains [8T] and another for tying the cross [6T].

 

[Hangman]

Awesome. Thank you very much for the information and advice.

 

[tennisaddict03]

On top of what everyone else has been saying, I'm curious what tensions you were asking for in the mains and crosses. I just came across a friend's racket the other day that had 40 lb mains and 64 lb crosses from some random stringing shop in Delaware.

 

[Hangman]

On top of what everyone else has been saying, I'm curious what tensions you were asking for in the mains and crosses. I just came across a friend's racket the other day that had 40 lb mains and 64 lb crosses from some random stringing shop in Delaware.

I had requested it to be strung at 58lbs for both mains and crosses with Babolat Addiction 17.

 

[ejdtennis]

One thing that comes to mind as a possibility is that maybe they increased the tension for the last main strings before tying off and forgot to set it back to 58 before doing the crosses. Some machines have a knot function that will bump by a certain percentage for just one pull, but maybe they changed the tension setting instead and forgot to change back.

Good luck with your new machine. I am sure you will not regret the purchase!

 

[jim e]

ejdtennis is most likely correct, I was going to post the same response as his.
I have a knot button on my machine that increases the tension on that one pull only by 10%, then it resets back to reference tension set.
If stringer had to manually do that and forgot to set it back, it can increase tension on crosses by the set amount he uses for knot tension tie off, and as result could cause the racquet deformation.
Your better off stringing your own now, and you will know the job being done, hopefully.

 

[Wolfie1]

bad stringing jobs from a very large local store here in Houston

So Hangman - a large racquet shop, or large sporting goods shop? I avoid the latter, unless you're talking something as simple as apparel.
I've had bad experiences with pretty much all of the following from such a store:
- skis and binding mounting;
- racquet stringing (strung wrong, double pulled mains not tensioned properly);
- shoe recommendations;
- skate sharpening;

I think you'd be taking your life into your hands if they put together a bike. They don't know squat about golf either.
I avoid at all costs. Even racquet stringing. But it's just as well since you're getting a machine.

 

[Hangman]

So Hangman - a large racquet shop, or large sporting goods shop?

The store is the main competitor of TW

 

[Wolfie1]

Gotcha. Hmm, would have expected that the specialized retailers would know what they're doing.
In any event, enjoy stringing your racquets on the 602 FC. Good thing to get your son involved in that too.

 

[Irvin]

Gotcha. Hmm, would have expected that the specialized retailers would know what they're doing.
In any event, enjoy stringing your racquets on the 602 FC. Good thing to get your son involved in that too.

You hire someone to string rackets for you. Sooner or later they have to string that first racket. Do you expect they’ll all be xperts in no time at all?

 

[Wolfie1]

You hire someone to string rackets for you. Sooner or later they have to string that first racket. Do you expect they’ll all be xperts in no time at all?

No, I think it would be impossible to hit it out of the park or even close to it on the first half a dozen jobs. In the OP’s case, the frame distortion seems more than a minor error.

I guess it depends on the shops concern with their reputation and customer satisfaction in terms of stringing racquets, which then might affect their sales of merchandise.

So for the new guy, do they:

A. Show em once, then let them loose stringing racquets. No one reviews their work, and hopefully, they do not have any negative feedback from customers; or

B. Train, supervise, and review. So after initial training, the prospect practices on an old racquet for 2-3 tries. First customer racquets are also inspected by experienced staff (proper knots and tie-off holes, perhaps a test with an ERT 300 for reasonableness, document frame size before/after). Ongoing discussion of techniques and new equipment amongst all staff.

It’s somewhere in that spectrum. Since tennis is that shop’s only business, you’d think they’d have some best practices that gravitate towards the latter. Obviously, something went wrong somewhere in the OP’s case. How does one racquet come off so different, though two different techs could have done the one order.

I don’t know anything about retail – just applying processes commonly found in other industries.

 

[am1899]

Depends on the shop, and the employees who represent them. Also tends to depend on the pay structure (flat rate vs. hourly, for example).

One thing that is troubling to me:

If you string a racquet, and it ends up 1/4” longer than unstrung length - that racquet is unlikely to release easily from the machine mounts. So, if one has to go medieval on the mount knobs to get the racquet off the machine, that should be an immediate cause for concern. Either the stringer didn’t realize this outcome is indicative of a substantial distortion problem. Or, they simply didn’t care. Either way, not good.

 

[Hangman]

Hi everyone. Thank you all for your feedback. I received the stringer and strings today. I did a test string on a few of my old racquets to get some experience. They came out nice and I was satisfied with the results so I string my son’s PD. It too came out very nice and without any distortion. One thing I did notice is that the starting tie off grommet for the cross was damaged from the bad string job at the store. I had to make an extra large knot for the tie off for it to catch. I will order a new set of grommets for it to change out for the next string job. Overall I am satisfied and glad I purchased my own stringer.

 

[esgee48]

When you replace the grommets, keep track of which side the strips come from. The bumper and strips are asymmetric, so you can put them in "backwards."

In lieu of replacing grommets, you can also look at using FITTEX individual replacements. Choice is yours.

 

[Irvin]

No, I think it would be impossible to hit it out of the park or even close to it on the first half a dozen jobs. In the OP’s case, the frame distortion seems more than a minor error.

There was a guy on the forum here that kept stringing his white Steffi Graff racket and they would end up a half inch shorter. He came over and used my machine and same thing happened. I told him he should try the Stringway tension advisor but he did want to do that because the cross tension was 10 lbs greater that the mains and he didn't want to do that. So he tried everything else anyone suggested. He finally strung the racket with the Stringway suggested tensions and solved his problem.