Newbie Qs: USRSA, Mounting Racquets, etc. (LONG)

[Quasimodo]

Hello all. I've some newbie questions. I apologise if some or all of these are repeats. In my *brief* search through past threads, I couldn't find answers to them. Here they go:

1. I string mainly badminton racquets and am just starting to string for close friends. I'm not sure just how many tennis/squash/racquetball racquets I'll string in the immediate future (probably none at all). Just how beneficial would it be for me to become a USRSA member? I've seen their past annual guides and list of freebies, but they're mostly tennis-oriented and, as such, of little use to me. Unless I turn around and sell them. What I'm really looking for is a little help in getting a supply of equipments at wholesale prices, so I can pass the savings on to my customers. For instance, a set of the very popular Yonex BG-85 string sells for ~$10 retail, not including shipping. Even if I don't make any profit in material, eat the shipping and charge a minimal fee of $10 for labour, the total cost comes to $20. Which is a little too expensive, IMHO, compared to what other guys charge around here.

So, would a USRSA membership enable me to contact, for instance, Yonex directly and get a supply of strings, grommets, etc. cheaper?

2. This one pertains more to the actual stringing method. How tight should I set the head and throat mounts? I've a 6-point Alpha Axis Pro. I've been trying not noticeably stretch the racquet. Because, I figured, once I tension the mains, the frame would be compressed and sit on the mounts snugly. But, I broke one of my racquets last night when trying out a 1-piece ATW pattern exactly at the 3 o'clock position. After I took it off the machine, I noticed that the frame was so compressed and it was actually hard to loosen up the head/throat mounts. So, I supposed I hadn't mounted the racquet correctly that time. I tried with another racquet and, this time, I mounted it so that the head/throat pins sat snugly on the frame and added another 1/8 turn, so the racquet visibly stretched just slightly. I strung it using the same ATW pattern and it didn't break.

So, was that the correct way to mount a racquet or was I just lucky? Admittedly, I haven't strung a lot of racquets and would like to know exactly what I've done wrong to break that one racquet.

3. I'm playing around trying to come up with a 1-piece pattern in addition to the standard 2-piece Yonex recommended one. Are there specific issues I should watch out for in terms of potential uneven stresses, good/bad tie-off points, rookie mistakes, etc.? Can you judge whether a pattern is "good"/"bad" sound/unsound for whatever reason from a description?

Thank you very much in advance.

 

[Gaines Hillix]

Quas, my experience has been that the racquet sports suppliers don't give you very good pricing if you are a home based stringer, even if you are an MRT. You might try contacting Greg Raven at USRSA, greg@racquettech.com and ask him what he thinks. On mounting the frame, with tennis racquets I tighten the mounts until they just touch the frame and then just enough more so that when I try to wiggle the racquet back and forth it doesn't move. If I see the frame start to stretch I always back off a little. You didn't say what kind of badminton frame you were working on when it broke, but I did notice that all of the string patterns on the USRSA website for Yonex badminton racquets are two piece.

 

[Quasimodo]

Quas, my experience has been that the racquet sports suppliers don't give you very good pricing if you are a home based stringer, even if you are an MRT. You might try contacting Greg Raven at USRSA, greg@racquettech.com and ask him what he thinks. On mounting the frame, with tennis racquets I tighten the mounts until they just touch the frame and then just enough more so that when I try to wiggle the racquet back and forth it doesn't move. If I see the frame start to stretch I always back off a little. You didn't say what kind of badminton frame you were working on when it broke, but I did notice that all of the string patterns on the USRSA website for Yonex badminton racquets are two piece.

Thanks for your response. The racquet was a Yonex Carbonex 8200 Light. Standard oval shape, not isometric.

Yes, all printed suggested/recommended patterns I've come across are 2-piece. But, most experienced stringers I've met here string using 1 piece, including the USRSA certification tester who taught me. Since I'm just learning, I figure I try out a few different patterns and learn what are the advantages and disadvantages about each of them.

I haven't gotten a chance to contact USRSA about membership benefits as they pertain to wholesale suppliers, yet. I'll do that soon enough.

Thanks again.

 

[uk_skippy]

Hi Quasi

I strung about 10 bad rqts a week and I always use a 2-piece pattern. As most bad rqts finish the mains at the throat, stringing 1 piece would mean that you'd string btm to tip. Given the shape of bad rqts, you could be putting extra stress on the weakest part of the frame at the tip.

You maybe able to string ATW if you string the top 3 X's with the short side. You'd then be able to string the long side as normal, run 1 X at the throat and then run it up the missing main on the short side. This is assuming the rqt is standard shape/pattern. If may also be possible to do non-standard rqts (eg Prince and Babolat) if you 'plan your route' first. However Babolat bad rqts do finish the mains at the throat but still recommend a 2 piece pattern.

Given this discussion, I'll think I'll give it a go on a spare bad rqt I have at home. After all I string ATW on tennis and squash, but then they do seem to be structually stronger then bad rqts.

 

[Quasimodo]

Hi Quasi

I strung about 10 bad rqts a week and I always use a 2-piece pattern. As most bad rqts finish the mains at the throat, stringing 1 piece would mean that you'd string btm to tip. Given the shape of bad rqts, you could be putting extra stress on the weakest part of the frame at the tip.

You maybe able to string ATW if you string the top 3 X's with the short side. You'd then be able to string the long side as normal, run 1 X at the throat and then run it up the missing main on the short side. This is assuming the rqt is standard shape/pattern. If may also be possible to do non-standard rqts (eg Prince and Babolat) if you 'plan your route' first. However Babolat bad rqts do finish the mains at the throat but still recommend a 2 piece pattern.

Given this discussion, I'll think I'll give it a go on a spare bad rqt I have at home. After all I string ATW on tennis and squash, but then they do seem to be structually stronger then bad rqts.

Hello Skip. The ATW pattern you described above is very similar to what I'm trying out, except I do 2 crosses at the head with the short side and 3 crosses at the throat with the long side before bringing it up.

So, to summarise, I do the mains with the short side until (throat) T10 to H10, start cross from H8, H7 and tie-off at H6. I do the mains with the long side using the standard Yonex pattern as prescribed on their UK website, that is string until T9, skip T10 and T11, T12 up to H11, over to H10 down to T10, then to T9 to start the 3 crosses at the throat to T11. Bring it up via T12 to H11, start the remaining crosses from H9 to T12 and tie-off at T13.

What do you guys think? Is it a sound pattern? Is there some sort of a analysis one can do to determine whether or not it puts the frame under an uneven stress?

FWIW, while I know I lace and weave exactly the same # of mains and crosses, this pattern feels faster, somehow.

BTW, 2 things I forgot to mention: I do string my racquets much tighter than the recommended tension at 27x29 (personal preference) and when I do the mains, I do alternate from one side to the other. IOW, I don't thoroughly complete the short side and then start on the long.

Thank you very much for your response.

 

[uk_skippy]

Hi Quasi

The pattern you've describe would seem to work, but the major problem could be the tension you use. Unless specifically asked for I string bad rqts at between 18 and 20lbs. If you're string in the region of 28lbs then thats about an increase of 30ish%. If you did that on a tennis rqt that stated the max is 60lbs then you'd be string it nearer 80lbs. I've seen a report from a stringer who strung the bad rqts at the 2004 Olympics that a british guy had his strung at 31lbs and a couple of frames broke on the machine!

If I were stringing a bad rqt that tight I'd be inclined to stick to the company's recommended pattern to reduce any further stress. String the mains alternating one side then the other is always a good method. Another problem is having too much string run at the top of the rqt. You'd probably want as little extra string running around the top of the frame as poss. I know what you bad players are like for picking up the shuttle off the floor with your rqts!

Hope this has helped. Look foward to continuing this discussion.

By the way, where are you in the world??

Paul

 

[Quasimodo]

Hi Quasi

The pattern you've describe would seem to work, but the major problem could be the tension you use. Unless specifically asked for I string bad rqts at between 18 and 20lbs. If you're string in the region of 28lbs then thats about an increase of 30ish%. If you did that on a tennis rqt that stated the max is 60lbs then you'd be string it nearer 80lbs. I've seen a report from a stringer who strung the bad rqts at the 2004 Olympics that a british guy had his strung at 31lbs and a couple of frames broke on the machine!

If I were stringing a bad rqt that tight I'd be inclined to stick to the company's recommended pattern to reduce any further stress. String the mains alternating one side then the other is always a good method. Another problem is having too much string run at the top of the rqt. You'd probably want as little extra string running around the top of the frame as poss. I know what you bad players are like for picking up the shuttle off the floor with your rqts!

Hope this has helped. Look foward to continuing this discussion.

By the way, where are you in the world??

Paul

I agree with the high tension remark. I only do it for my own racquets. I haven't strung anyone else's racquets out of spec., so to speak. If they ask, then we'll have to come to an understanding first as to the risks involved.

I too thought about having too thick an overlap at the top of the frame, especially on the short side. That's partly why I choose to leave the last main (T12 to H11) out, rather than the next to last (T10 to H10). I think that'd make less of an overlap, compared to if I string T12-H11 on the short side and use T10-H10 to bring the long side up, though I'm not sure. The other reason is because the latter pattern would mean that I'd've to skip 2 holes (i.e., longer string) to get to H8 to start my 2 crosses on top. I'm guessing that a longer "loose" string around the frame like that would mean a less consistent tension? Is that true? Does it matter? I don't know. I'm just learning, so I'm trying to identify as many good and bad practices as possible.

I'll try both ways with another frame to see if it makes any difference at all.

BTW, real badminton players can scoop shuttles off the floor without the frame scraping the floor.

I'm in the Phoenix metro area, Arizona, USA. Home of the, "Yes, it's 115degF, but it's dry heat."

 

[Gaines Hillix]

Quas, I agree with UK Skippy. It sounds like the higher tension is contributing to the problem. Also, I believe doing the three crosses at the bottom before going up top to finish them may contribute to more stress on the frame. You might try this pattern; after you've tied off your short side mains, leave the last main on your long side unstrung. Then count your cross string holes from throat to head. Your total will be either even or odd. When even, start your top cross at the first cross grommet and continue by installing all crosses and then finish by installing the last main on the long side. When odd, start your first cross at the second cross grommet and continue to the bottom and then finish by installing the last main and then the top cross.

 

[Quasimodo]

Quas, I agree with UK Skippy. It sounds like the higher tension is contributing to the problem. Also, I believe doing the three crosses at the bottom before going up top to finish them may contribute to more stress on the frame. You might try this pattern; after you've tied off your short side mains, leave the last main on your long side unstrung. Then count your cross string holes from throat to head. Your total will be either even or odd. When even, start your top cross at the first cross grommet and continue by installing all crosses and then finish by installing the last main on the long side. When odd, start your first cross at the second cross grommet and continue to the bottom and then finish by installing the last main and then the top cross.

Hello Gaines. That's a very interesting pattern. Won't it mean, though, that I'll have to weave the last main through the crosses? Will that be all right in terms of frame stress and playing feel?

Thanks.