Tie-Offs

[AndyC]

I was stringing a racket yesterday and ran into a problem in that I had strung the mains and finished the crosses (with a starter clamp in place) when I realised that the grommet for the tie-off at the top was too small for me to get the string through it. I did manage to get the string through another grommet though which meant that the tie-off for the cross at the top was not as recommended by the manufacturer. Is this going to cause a problem? I can't think of why it should but it did cause me some 10 minutes of fiddling to get it done.

Another thought on tie-offs with regard to consistency of stringing. How do you ensure a consistent tension on the last string prior to tying off? I can never quite get the the two last mains to match even though I try to get as much of the last main through the grommet prior to tying a knot - there appears to be varying degrees of slippage . Any tips/hints for this?

 

[@ce]

Hey AndyC, no problem on the tie-off location. You can pretty much use any grommet hole that works. What you could have also done for the grommet was to take a waxed straight awl and carefully work your way through the grommet, this should have given you enough clearance for the tie-off.
On your question about tension on the tie-off string, you will usually lose tension on this string because of the slippage on the tie-off. Some stringers, such as the Babolat Star 4, have a tie-off knot tension setting which increases the tension of that string. If your stringer doesn't allow for this you can manually bump up the tension to take into account for the loss in tension.

 

[AndyC]

Thanks for the info. I did have an awl and that would have been my next course of action as I deemed it was safer to use another grommet. It's good to know though in case my friend asks why it's tied of on a different string (that's if he even notices).

I usually up the tension on the last main by a couple of lbs to take slippage into account. However I was really wondering if anyone had any tips to ensure a more "consistent slippage" if you know what I mean.

 

[PBODY99]

Thanks for the info. I did have an awl and that would have been my next course of action as I deemed it was safer to use another grommet. It's good to know though in case my friend asks why it's tied of on a different string (that's if he even notices).

I usually up the tension on the last main by a couple of lbs to take slippage into account. However I was really wondering if anyone had any tips to ensure a more "consistent slippage" if you know what I mean.

For the short side, increase the lenght of the string so that you can string the first coss weave then tie off. The long side starrts the second cross and you should find that the outside mains have a closer and more consistent feel.

 

[dancraig]

Concerning the tie off hole discrepancy, sometimes the stringing pattern instructions are just simply wrong. The Wilson n1 115 comes to mind. The Klipperusa website stringing pattern calls for the cross to be tied on 11B. All the n1s that I string have the enlarged grommet on 12B.

 

[Kevo]

My advice is not to worry so much about that last main's tension. Just get as much slack out of the string as possible and tie it off carefully. The 5 pounds or so you lose on that string will not affect the playability of the string job. It's very difficult to hit the ball with that last string anyway. I normally end up framing it when I try.

 

[nViATi]

I was stringing a racket yesterday and ran into a problem in that I had strung the mains and finished the crosses (with a starter clamp in place) when I realised that the grommet for the tie-off at the top was too small for me to get the string through it. I did manage to get the string through another grommet though which meant that the tie-off for the cross at the top was not as recommended by the manufacturer. Is this going to cause a problem? I can't think of why it should but it did cause me some 10 minutes of fiddling to get it done.

Another thought on tie-offs with regard to consistency of stringing. How do you ensure a consistent tension on the last string prior to tying off? I can never quite get the the two last mains to match even though I try to get as much of the last main through the grommet prior to tying a knot - there appears to be varying degrees of slippage . Any tips/hints for this?

Try putting a bit of water(lubricant) on the string and using a plier.

 

[Gaines Hillix]

Besides raising the reference tension or using the knot button, there are some things you can do to be more consistent with your tie offs. Except on nat gut, I use parallel jaw pliers to pull tension on the piece of string between the clamp and the tieoff and to tighten the knots. These allow me to get a good pull on this piece without fear of it slipping. I also pull on the tag end of the string with my pliers, keeping the knot secure, while I'm releasing the clamp.