Starting the crosses with a floating clamp

[A Very New Stringer]

Hello. I am new here and am in the process of stringing my first racket. I have a question though. I watched both almerickso and yulitle's videos and I still can't figure out where to clamp the first cross with floating clamps. I am using a one piece pattern and the first cross is at the top of the racket with no starting clamp available to me.

 

[ReopeningWed]

I used to have a problem with this, now I weave two crosses and just pull the string 10% higher for those first two strings.

 

[A Very New Stringer]

I suppose I can clamp the first string by itself and use the mains to hold it in place for just the first string, but I don't know if this is good practice or if it'll work at all.

 

[dancraig]

I suppose I can clamp the first string by itself and use the mains to hold it in place for just the first string, but I don't know if this is good practice or if it'll work at all.

Standard procedure is to tension the first two crosses at the same time, and then clamp.

 

[A Very New Stringer]

Will the tension be lower if i tension both of them at the same time?

 

[dancraig]

Will the tension be lower if i tension both of them at the same time?

It will be alright. Even if the tension is a little lower, the top two crosses are shorter than the others so the stiffness should be similar to the rest of the stringbed. And at the other end of the crosses, you will be tieing off and that can also cause a loss of tension. Maybe more that double pulling the top two crosses. If you are still concerned, do as the OP advised and add a few pounds to those tension pulls.

 

[ryangoring]

WHy is it wise to go up on tension when doing the last strings in a string job?
I have never done it before.
First of all, you have the starting clamp in position or the starting knot done. You weave the first two crosses and tension them. Clamp and continue with the rest.

 

[ryangoring]

Are you sure you watched Almerickso video on starting the crosses?
Starting crosses

 

[Irvin]

WHy is it wise to go up on tension when doing the last strings in a string job?
I have never done it before.
First of all, you have the starting clamp in position or the starting knot done. You weave the first two crosses and tension them. Clamp and continue with the rest.

I do not believe it is wise to go up in tension when doing the last strings. Many people do it though because of the tension loss in the knot.

Irvin.

 

[ryangoring]

I do not believe it is wise to go up in tension when doing the last strings. Many people do it though because of the tension loss in the knot.

Irvin.

Hmmmm. Thought so. I never did. But often wondered why others do so.

 

[COPEY]

I know the guy who used to string my racquets did. When I was doing my research on these boards before purchasing my machine I read a thread where a few posters said often times customers would pull on the top/bottom or far left/right strings as a means to assess the quality of the string job. If it was loose, they questioned the workmanship. I know I used to do that, and even though I now know it's not necessarily indicative of the quality of workmanship that goes into stringing a racquet, some customers believe it is. To circumvent speculation of that kind, my stringer says he pulls the tie-off strings a few pounds tighter to ensure consistency throughout the stringbed.

It makes sense really. Customer's perceptions, even when wrong, could have a negative impact on your business, so if there's an easy work around, why not take it?

 

[A Very New Stringer]

Are you sure you watched Almerickso video on starting the crosses?
Starting crosses

Yeah I watched that one but i couldn't really see what was going on. He didn't zoom close up on the strings.

 

[topanlego]

This is what I do and it works for me:

- weave 1st 2 crosses to take advantage of weaving one ahead
- pull tension on the first cross (BTW, I use a starting clamp so no starting knot)
- clamp with the floating clamp but with a scrap piece of string in the other side of the clamp with the mains holding tension.
- weave next cross.
- pull tension on 2nd cross and clamp

The only problem I have with floating clamps on my racquet is the top and bottom 2 crosses are too wide to be clamped together so I only have the mains holding the tension. It's not a problem as when you tension the next cross it will bring back the tension.

 

[A Very New Stringer]

So I finished stringing my first racket. I used an ATW pattern on a ATS SSII dropweight machine that I bought on craigslist. The previous owner only used it about four times and it was like new. It ended up taking me 2 hours, but I'm sure I can improve. I messed up on measuring the lengths for the short side and long side about halfway through the mains so I had to start all over. Thanks for all the help. I was reading on this forum for about a week before I attempted to string it.

 

[COPEY]

Hehe yeah, you'll improve on your time for sure, but more importantly, your technique will start to improve, so the amount of time it takes will fall accordingly.

Hope you like stringing. I've heard of the rare occasion where someone would invest in a stringer only to find that the process just isn't their cup of tea. I suppose I can understand that, but I can't say that I can relate to it since I love it. I've only done about 10 racquets so far, but at this point I can't imagine growing bored with it.

 

[A Very New Stringer]

So the machine I bought came with two badminton floating clamps and i was wondering if I could use them as a starting clamp for tennis strings. What's the difference between badminton clamps and tennis clamps besides the distance between the ehh teeth or something?

 

[topanlego]

Usually the Badminton clamps are just spring loaded. Stringing badminton rarely do you go over 35 lbs in tension. Maxed out around 40 I think. They won't be able to hold the tension required for tennis stringing. Especially not for a starting clamp. The starting clamp has much stronger springs in it to grip the string firmly and is able to hold the high tensions required for stringing tennis.

 

[meowmix]

^You'd be surprised how well badmitton clamps hold tension. When I got my string pal, Alpha screwed up and sent me 2 pairs of badmitton clamps instead of a pair of badmitton clamps and a pair of regular clamps. I strung my first two rackets up with badmitton clamps, and they held up fine. I think the tensions were ... 56 and 58 lbs?

 

[A Very New Stringer]

Oh I don't think mine are spring loaded. They kinda look like these except they have 4 teeths instead of 3.

http://www.eagnas.com/store/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=39&products_id=184

 

[topanlego]

I've never tried to see how tight the badminton clamps are from Alpha. I guess it doesn't hurt to try. I'll try it the next time I string.

That being said, why not invest in a starting clamp. it would make your life a lot easier without the worry. You can get a Alpha or Gamma one for $35-40.

Lots of good reasons to have one and no good reason not to.

 

[jim e]

This is what I do and it works for me:

- weave 1st 2 crosses to take advantage of weaving one ahead
- pull tension on the first cross (BTW, I use a starting clamp so no starting knot)
- clamp with the floating clamp but with a scrap piece of string in the other side of the clamp with the mains holding tension.
- weave next cross.
- pull tension on 2nd cross and clamp

The only problem I have with floating clamps on my racquet is the top and bottom 2 crosses are too wide to be clamped together so I only have the mains holding the tension. It's not a problem as when you tension the next cross it will bring back the tension.

Fortunately I use fixed clamps, and not floating clamps, but if I had to use floaters I would not like to have the main strings hold the tension on the cross string floating clamp, as too much tension can be lost at an inconsistant level each time. Consistancy is what it is all about.I would also not like to pull 2 strings at once.
It seems it would make sense to:
Weave the 1st two cross strings, and clamp the 2nd cross inside the frame farthest away from the tensioner with a starting clamp and then tension the 1st cross string, and hold the tension on the 1st cross with the floater outside the frame,just like if you were using another starting clamp there,or if you have another starting clamp that can be used
Next tension the 2nd cross string, release the starting clamp that was used inside the frame on that string, use the 2nd floater clamp to clamp the 1st 2 cross strings that are now tensioned properly and each tensioned one at a time. Proceed as normal to finish.Before finishing you can tie off the 1st cross string with tie off knot.
Would seem better to do this than to tension 2 strings at once, or have the mains hold the clamp in place.
Like I said, I do not use floaters, and probably never will , as I have no need to with the fixed clamps my machine has,I really did not want to comment on this since I don't use these clamps, but this would seem a better option than what I have seen from some starting cross strings with floaters.

 

[GPB]

I use two methods when starting crosses with my floating clamps.

1) On a 2-piece job, I start my crosses the exact same way I start the mains, except it's the 1st two crosses instead of the middle two. So I weave both, pull both in the tensioner, clamp inside far away from the tensioner. Pull the first string, hold it with a starting clamp outside the frame. Weave crosses. After tying at the bottom, repull tension up top and tie off.

2) On a 1-piece job, I weave 2, pull the first, and clamp it off to a scrap of poly which goes through the third hole and has a knot tied on the outside of the frame so it doesn't let the string relax. Once I tension the second cross, I'm back in business!

No sweat, although this is one area where fixed clamps would save a good bit of time!

 

[topanlego]

I don't find that tension is lost when letting the mains hold tension as when you pull the next cross, it brings the clamp back into the tensioned position. As well, it's usually only the first and last cross that have the mains holding tension. You'll always lose some tension on those crosses when tying off. You rarely hit with those 2 strings anyway and it wouldn't affect the overall string bed. I haven't noticed much of a difference.

 

[A Very New Stringer]

Is it true that if the drop weight stringer machine base is not perfectly flat, the tension will be off?

 

[Irvin]

...I read a thread where a few posters said often times customers would pull on the top/bottom or far left/right strings as a means to assess the quality of the string job.
...It makes sense really. Customer's perceptions, even when wrong, could have a negative impact on your business, so if there's an easy work around, why not take it?

Whether you pull tension on the tie off string at 10% or 10 lbs higher the outside mains are still going to appear as though they move more that the other mains. I don't see the benefit of this. But I know others do it for what they think are good reasons even great stringers. I just do not think it is good practice.

Here is an option for the OP. String two piece and first string the second and third crosses and pull tension on both to set the tension in the clamp. Then pull tension on the second cross and set the other clamp (or better yet a starting clamp) on the outside of the frame to hold the second cross. Pull tension on the third cross and move the first clamp to hold the third cross pull tension on the fourth cross and move the first clamp again. Now go back to the second cross and pull tension and move the clamp to the inside of the frame. Pull the top cross, clamp and tie off.

I guess we really failed the OP in not asking what type of racket he/she is stringing. Could be they are using an ATW pattern or maybe even stringing bottom to top. Knowing what racket is being strung and which one piece pattern they are using makes a big difference some times.

Irvin