Unsound Stringing Practice?

[jax11213]

I recently took up stringing my own racquets, the guy at our club strings racquets in what I think is a very poor job. Here are some of the things he does:
when doing mains, strings one half before the other

will do half of mains, go teach a lesson, finish the lesson, do half the crosses, go teach a lesson, then finish the crosses(takes him 2 hours to do a racquet)

notches the strings by not using wax or pushing the strings up

never calibrates the machine


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS GUY?

 

[nViATi]

Do your best to warn potential customers to not goto him.

 

[PBODY99]

The things he does is great for business, if you want to damage people frames and give then incosistent stringing !

He is forcing a frame that is design to handle a system of stress in a certain manner to opperate outside of its boundaries.

Even doing this once is once too many times.

 

[Stan]

Professional coaches should coach. Professional racquet technicians should deal with equipment issues. It's a rare bird who is able to do both equally well.

Many people can be taught the relatively simple mechanics of stringing a racquet, but "learning how to string" and understanding the nuances is something different. There is a distinct difference between a person who knows how to place strings into a racquet frame and a true racquet care professional.

The case you are describing is clearly a tennis coach who knows the mechanics of putting strings into a racquet, but that's not good enough. Hopefully he is more proficient and complete with his on court instructional techniques.

 

[Cruzer]

I recently took up stringing my own racquets, the guy at our club strings racquets in what I think is a very poor job. Here are some of the things he does:
when doing mains, strings one half before the other

will do half of mains, go teach a lesson, finish the lesson, do half the crosses, go teach a lesson, then finish the crosses(takes him 2 hours to do a racquet)

notches the strings by not using wax or pushing the strings up

never calibrates the machine


WHAT DO YOU THINK OF THIS GUY?

Did you make this up? (just kidding) Has anyone ever called him on his racquet stringing technique? You or someone should just tell him straight out that either he should learn to string racquets properly or stop doing it because currently he doesn't seem to have a clue about what he is doing.

 

[Rumjungle]

Wow, I wonder if anyone bothers to check if their racquets are lopsided.

 

[SteveI]

Wow, I wonder if anyone bothers to check if their racquets are lopsided.

Hi,

In a word "YIKES"..

Steve

 

[bengy088]

that guy's stringing is bad, by any standards. i wouldn't tell him how he should do his job, but no doubt i wouldn't go to him for another stringing. if you care about other customers who may not know how he does the stringing, you could complain to his boss. well if he IS the boss, warn customers if possible.

 

[Steve Huff]

Few people wax strings (except for natural gut). Next time he's on the court with a racket half done on the machine, release the handle on one of his clamps. When he gets back up, see if he restrings, or just goes back a couple of strings and starts from there. Now, we'll really know how bad he is.

 

[jax11213]

Good idea Steve! No but really, I used to have my racquets strung by him for 3 YEARS! I had no idea what a bad stringer he was until I got my own stringing machine and learned how to string. But another question, how do I learn how to improve my stringing?

 

[Valjean]

There's a stringing video from the USRSA that's widely available. There's a good place to start out.

 

[jax11213]

Well I already know how to string fairly well, I've strung about 300 frames but I just feel that there are some things I could do better or there may be some techniques I'm not aware of. As you can see, I'm not around the best stringing influences.

 

[Valjean]

Not sure just what you mean to improve, but consistency of result is the quality I'd look to first. That means measuring your work, making comparisions, and keeping records. Then you could branch out, once you know where you stand with that. Many of the techniques you yearn after you'd find actually deal with how to achieve consistency. Safeguarding the racquet and improving its playable feel are two other important objectives. I don't know if you are a member of USRSA, but that's where you could gain much new info. There is an online membership, with database access I believe, available now too...

 

[Steve Huff]

Unfortunately, it's usually experiencing a problem that makes you learn more. You really never know something needs improved until you run across a problem. I've strung literally thousands of rackets, yet I've never learned to fingertip string. I know it's slower the way I do it, but I've never had the need to go much faster. I've been stringing since 79. I'm still learning. These boards give me ideas occasionally. USRSA Tips sometimes do too. But, it's usually when I've encountered a problem that forces me to find a better way to do something.

 

[Richie Rich]

I've strung literally thousands of rackets, yet I've never learned to fingertip string. I know it's slower the way I do it, but I've never had the need to go much faster.

me either. tried but just don't have the finger strength or tecnique. never felt the need to get my time down to sub 15 minutes so why bother? friend can do this and string a racquet in 9 minutes.

agree about experience. you can watch all the videos you want but until you come across an issue that makes you think you'll learn better.

 

[NoBadMojo]

Jax I agree that is unacceptable, especially the part about pulling all the mains on one side, and then the other. You would be surprised to see how some racquets get strung, especially at Racquet Clubs. Things like only tensioning every 2nd or even every 3rd string...they'll set the tension a bit higher and pull every 2nd or 3rd string. If you need to find a good stringer in Raleigh, I can recommend one whom you can trust.

 

[Gaines Hillix]

Well I already know how to string fairly well, I've strung about 300 frames but I just feel that there are some things I could do better or there may be some techniques I'm not aware of. As you can see, I'm not around the best stringing influences.

jax11213, joining the USRSA and carefully studying their stringing guide and reviewing the stringing tips section of their website is one of the best ways to improve your stringing ability. Another good way is to find an MRT in your area that gives stringing instruction. The USRSA provides a list of MRTs that do instruction on their web site that's free to use. It's searchable by zip code.

 

[jax11213]

No Bad Mojo, you know of a good stringer in Raleigh?