Setting accurate drop weight tension

Darnjace

New User
I bought this drop weight stringer used. I am having trouble setting tension on it accurately. It has ticks marking the drop weight bar but no markings that tell what the poundage is for each marking. I know from other conversations that you go off of the bottom of the weight to set the weight at a certain poundage but I don’t know where the 50lbs or 60lbs mark is. I have been doing my best to estimate what each mark is so far. In this picture the mark I am pointing at is what I have been assuming is 50lbs and I have been assuming that the marks are 10 lbs apart. My questions are:

1. What poundage do each of the marks represent? Am I right about where the 50lbs mark is?
2. Am I correct in thinking that the marks are 10lbs apart?

Link to the picture:
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
The marks do not appear to be equidistant therefore the tension change won‘t be the same between each mark. Since you did not include of photo of the weight itself it is hard to guess if your DW stringer was meant to be used for tennis (higher tension) or badminton (lower tension.) You can get a good idea of what the tension is using a fish scale for each mark.
 

esgee48

G.O.A.T.
Irvin's comment is absolutely correct about a fish or luggage scale. Use the weight and a piece of kevlar string or very thick poly to determine what each marking represents. If the markings are not equi-tension, e.g. not 10# , then be prepared to mark the rod with your most commonly used tensions.
 

Darnjace

New User
The stringer for sure is a tennis racket stringer. I have strung many rackets on it. It is a pretty big and heavy weight too. That is a good idea to mark new marks for commonly used weights. That is also a good idea with the fishing scale. How to I test it with the fishing weight? Do I just tie a loop in the string and attach the scale to one end and thread the other through the tension bar? Then do I just level the bar out on different heights of the weight?
 

MaxSwing

New User
As you say attach some string to the fish or luggage measure and clip it on the mounting. Then use the grippers to hold the string and get the weight bar horizontal - at horizontal you can then read the result from the measure and that shows you the # pull at that weight distance. You then have to reset everything and move the weight to a new location to get a new measure. My drop weight had a sticker along the length of the bar with # markers however using a tension meter I found this sticker to be out of place slightly and I have simply put sharpie marks for the most common tensions I do for my friends - although I still re-measure every time I get the machine out.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
The stringer for sure is a tennis racket stringer. I have strung many rackets on it. It is a pretty big and heavy weight too. That is a good idea to mark new marks for commonly used weights. That is also a good idea with the fishing scale. How to I test it with the fishing weight? Do I just tie a loop in the string and attach the scale to one end and thread the other through the tension bar? Then do I just level the bar out on different heights of the weight?
To begin with you must first find a way to stop the turntable from spinning. Then attach strings to both sides of the scale. Attach one string to a fixed object “Ike the 12 o’clock post and the other end to your tensioner, pull tension, and measure.
 

Darnjace

New User
Okay thanks. My stringer doesn’t have a turn table that spins. You might be able to see it in the picture.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Okay thanks. My stringer doesn’t have a turn table that spins. You might be able to see it in the picture.
All I can see in the picture is the DW arm. You may not have a table in the strict sense of the word but you racket does spin around on something and the tensioner remains stationary.
 

struggle

Legend
If you are pulling tension/scale from the near end of the “table” it won’t spin. There may or may not be enough room between the two for the scale, pending its size.

If you’re trying to pull across the table, yes it will want to turn. Perhaps there is a knob to lock it down to the center post that it spins on (underneath the “table”).
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
Another option is to use a StringMeter on the free string scale to measure the tension between the frame and the tensioner. That might be the easiest method.
 

MaxSwing

New User
I dont have a lock and so I have a small loop of string off one end of my tension meter which I put on the 12 o'clock, and then a loop of string out of the other end which I pass either side of the 6 o'clock mount - this effectively locks the bed.
 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
I dont have a lock and so I have a small loop of string off one end of my tension meter which I put on the 12 o'clock, and then a loop of string out of the other end which I pass either side of the 6 o'clock mount - this effectively locks the bed.
I used that method 13 years ago in one of my videos.

 

Irvin

Talk Tennis Guru
BTW I used to advise using Kevlar but the old @Gamma Tech back around 2010 advised using the nylon string that came with the calibrator. I doubt it matter so if you don’t have Kevlar (or even if you do) I do it helps any. Because you only want the tension with the bar about level it does not matter if it stretches or not, and because you have only 1/2 tension on each string it will not stretch much anyway.
 
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