boulderchips
Rookie
Hi all - I come seeking the wisdom of better stringers than I. I learned to string last year and use a Gamma X-2 (though I dream of upgrading someday).
Up until now, I've started my mains this way:
1) Thread the two center mains
2) Place a starting clamp outside the frame on one main
3) Tension the other main, clamp the two mains near the tensioner
4) Tension the next main away from the starting clamp, move the flying clamp
5) Tension the first main with the starting clamp, remove starting clamp, secure with the other flying clamp, and continue as usual
But those two center mains often ping significantly below their neighbors, even on a Yonex frame. I always wondered if the cause was the initial pull across the first grommet. A possibility for a different method occurred to me, but I hadn't seen this method described anywhere, so thought I'd ask here first. On a frame with six throat mains, it would go something like this:
1) Thread 1LM and 1RM
2) Place starting clamp outside the frame on 1RM (at 1H)
3) Pull enough slack back through the loop to tension 1RM at the throat
4) Put a starting pin (or knotted scrap string) through 2T, use it to clamp 1RM
5) Take the slack out, and tension 1LM
6) Move the flying clamp to clamp 1RM and 1LM near the top
From here, the two center mains should have ref tension, and I can continue as in the first method. The possible advantages I see here are that the first pull isn't across a grommet, and the first two strings to get full tension are the two center mains. I recognize that these are small differences, and maybe I'm making my life needlessly complicated. Has anyone tried this method? Am I missing any obvious flaws? I'm very much still a student in the stringing department, so I appreciate any insight.
Up until now, I've started my mains this way:
1) Thread the two center mains
2) Place a starting clamp outside the frame on one main
3) Tension the other main, clamp the two mains near the tensioner
4) Tension the next main away from the starting clamp, move the flying clamp
5) Tension the first main with the starting clamp, remove starting clamp, secure with the other flying clamp, and continue as usual
But those two center mains often ping significantly below their neighbors, even on a Yonex frame. I always wondered if the cause was the initial pull across the first grommet. A possibility for a different method occurred to me, but I hadn't seen this method described anywhere, so thought I'd ask here first. On a frame with six throat mains, it would go something like this:
1) Thread 1LM and 1RM
2) Place starting clamp outside the frame on 1RM (at 1H)
3) Pull enough slack back through the loop to tension 1RM at the throat
4) Put a starting pin (or knotted scrap string) through 2T, use it to clamp 1RM
5) Take the slack out, and tension 1LM
6) Move the flying clamp to clamp 1RM and 1LM near the top
From here, the two center mains should have ref tension, and I can continue as in the first method. The possible advantages I see here are that the first pull isn't across a grommet, and the first two strings to get full tension are the two center mains. I recognize that these are small differences, and maybe I'm making my life needlessly complicated. Has anyone tried this method? Am I missing any obvious flaws? I'm very much still a student in the stringing department, so I appreciate any insight.
