Why obsess over absolute tension?

[eelhc]

Having read through this and other threads that seem to focus on checking he tension after a string job... I'm left scratching my head...

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=493825

It seems to me that absolute tension is only important if one gets their frames strung by different people on different machines. Relative tension is what really matters.

Take my case for example... I just string for myself, family and friends. I check the calibration on my lockout machine before every string job (takes a minute). If I were to just string for myself... Does it really matter? Suppose my machine is 10lbs out of calibration and I never check or re-calibrate. Since my reference point is the setting on the machine, It really doesn't matter if I prefer a string job with my machine set at 60lbs when the absolute tension is 50lbs. Why do I care? it's just a reference point and I just set the preferred tension on my out of calibration machine.

For professional stringers or pro shops whose clients may go to several different different places or have several stringers on their staff I understand that targeting an absolute tension on the finished stringbed is important. So I understand that absolute tension does matter. But for somebody who gets their racquets strung on one machine by one person, the tension is just a number and where that number is on the scale is more important even if the machine is out of calibration. No?

 

[coachrick]

I think being able to adjust for various factors is key. Want them all the same?...need to know the starting point. Want to string 5# looser or tighter...need to know the starting point. I agree the numerical value given to the resulting 'tension' is ambiguous. (Insert funny story here...) One of our pro shop helpers called me at home one day because the customer insisted on having his rackets strung in kilograms rather than pounds of 'tension'. She wanted to make sure I could actually do that!

It's funny how folks obsess over all sorts of things tennis, but string tension has got to be one of the fuzziest. Folks would bring in a racket for restringing when it finally broke after a year(or 2 or 3) and absolutely required that it be strung the same way as 'last time'. Never mind ALL the changes that took place during that period between stringings...playing style and strength changed, opponents changed, balls changed, weather went from 45F in the winter to 105F in the summer, racket got older,...BUT...that machine setting had darned well better be exactly what it was set on 'last time'....

Humans are funny animals.

 

[mad dog1]

bingo! :idea:

 

[diredesire]

eelhc: You're technically correct, it's not "relative tension," either. It's actually stringbed stiffness.

In the end, if you live in an isolated world, then what you say is 100% true. In the real world, even if you generally never get strung by someone else and/or on another machine, there's going to be those situations where you're stuck without a frame, or in a remote location, etc... The real benefit is just so you can relate (hence the term relative) to other stringers and machines. It's also useful to be able to benchmark yourself against others, especially if you have a new customer come to you for service. If you don't have any intentions of providing service, then your point is even more true. In the end, if you are only concerned with stringbed stiffness, what's the point of calibrating (at all?). Another point: If you play with expensive strings, and you have one shot to nail the stringbed stiffness (with no calibration/calibrating), how confident are you? If you're not using a dropweight machine (which shouldn't theoretically drift very much provided there's no ridiculous amounts of friction), there may be drift in your springs (although it'd be very, very gradual from fatigue). It's actually pretty hard to check without taking your frame out for a hit. It's something you can (read: have to) check after the frame is done rather than before. Having a "reference" (aka "absolute") tension metric is powerful in reality, even though it might not make a huge difference in the short term.

Summary: You're right, there's no real reason to sweat it if you're comfortable living in isolation, but in the real world, there's huge value in being able to compare and relate to other stringers.

 

[Irvin]

Having read through this and other threads that seem to focus on checking he tension after a string job... I'm left scratching my head...

I check the calibration on my lockout machine before every string job (takes a minute)...

Each operation takes about the same time. They both seem a little excessive to me.

 

[eelhc]

Each operation takes about the same time. They both seem a little excessive to me.

True... Difference is... What does one do AFTER the string job based on the measurement? Cut out the strings and start over? I only check the calibration because I can and it takes very little time... No other reason. I should mention now that racquettune is available on android, I "measure" the tension and record it after each string job. However... I don't obsess over the absolute measurement... If racquettune says 50 and I had tension set at 60I will lose no sleep over it.

Again... For a professional stringer a different matter altogether...

 

[mad dog1]

True... Difference is... What does one do AFTER the string job based on the measurement? Cut out the strings and start over? I only check the calibration because I can and it takes very little time... No other reason. I should mention now that racquettune is available on android, I "measure" the tension and record it after each string job. However... I don't obsess over the absolute measurement... If racquettune says 50 and I had tension set at 60I will lose no sleep over it.

Again... For a professional stringer a different matter altogether...

you had a point initially, but now i think you're approaching this too simplistically. what the measurements after the string job is completed allow you to do is become a better stringer because it allows you to quantify changes you make to your technique. it can also indicate that you may have horrible technique if your machine is calibrated and you're still losing a ton of tension right off the stringer. additionally, the data over time also allows you to better understand tension and how different strings, different string patterns, different gauges and different racquet head sizes affect string bed stiffness. i keep a log of every string job i've done so i know what string i used in every racquet. this way i know what tension i should use in a 16x19 vs 18x20 in the same size racquet to get the closest string bed stiffness. i also know how much i need to adjust tension when going from tour bite to tour bite soft. or from tour bite soft to cyclone, etc. i can also make a very educated guess what tension i should string a 100 sq in racquet vs a 98 vs a 95. just my 2 pence.

 

[eelhc]

you had a point initially, but now i think you're approaching this too simplistically. what the measurements after the string job is completed allow you to do is become a better stringer because it allows you to quantify changes you make to your technique. it can also indicate that you may have horrible technique if your machine is calibrated and you're still losing a ton of tension right off the stringer. additionally, the data over time also allows you to better understand tension and how different strings, different string patterns, different gauges and different racquet head sizes affect string bed stiffness.

I'm see your point and it does make sense to quantify and reference each string job.