Will high tension differential break/warp your frame??

[ricardo]

Will high tension differential break/warp your frame??

It depends on the string you are using.

Reference tension

1. 40lbs
2. 62lbs

Same poly string (mains/crosses)

Luxilon 4G S 15

40lbs = 292 lbs/in stiffness
62lbs = 365 "

70 lbs/in difference in stiffness

Gut/poly

62lbs = 94 lbs/in stiffness
40lbs = 292 "

198 lbs/in difference in stiffness

Gut/Gut

62lbs = 94 lbs/in stiffness
40lbs = 89 "

5 lbs/in difference in stiffness

Question

What causes the frame to break/warp?
Is it the reference tension differential or string stiffness differential or a combination of both?

Conclusion
NG/NG will not break/warp the frame because the stiffness differential can not be high enough regardless of the reference tension differential. NG will break first before it can break/warp the frame.

Poly/Poly and NG/Poly may break/warp the frame because the stiffness differential can be high enough depending on the tension differential.

Comments

I welcome your comments in case I made the wrong conclusion and assumptions.

 

[drgchen]

I would think that tension differential would potentially warp the string. Tension reflects the parallel force of the string which would therefore be perpendicular force to the racquet material.

Most racquets are made quite strong...if you string the mains and not the crosses, perhaps a 60 lb differential...many racquets won't break. Many people break a main and leave the racquet with the crosses under tension...racquet usually doesn't break.

Stiffness would be a measure of perpendicular resistance of the string to a force perpendicular to the string bed. Obviously if a great enough force were to strike the string bed given sufficient string bed stiffness and strength, the racquet would break. But we are talking about a force not generated by a ball hitting the string bed but perhaps a sledge hammer...Stiffness would have no bearing on the potential to warp a racquet...An inelastic material strung in a racquet at 10 lbs would remain stiff but not exert much force on the racquet material.

 

[Backhanded Compliment]

Very curious about this since I use a gut/poly hybrid. Most recently at 54/53. Im not a string breaker.

Ive noticed that the gut masks the dead poly around the 21 hour mark and I simply cut it out because I notice my second serves are not going in with the same force (ie Im putting more effort into spin than pace and my frequent hitting partners get more aggressive). Or it is possible that around the 21 hour mark the tension differential is great enough to alter the racquet head geometry?

The gut loses tension a lot slower than the poly so I string them close while keeping the softer string (gut) higher tensioned to keep the poly crosses from digging in.

The question is, does the poly at say 42lbs really pose a problem if the gut mains are at 50? I don't think that is too bad and if Im not playing my toughest opponents it doesnt seem to matter much.

 

[Readers]

In my experience if you string a soft frame higher in cross it will distort the shape severely, but if done correct it's highly unlikely to warp.

 

[GlenK]

Just measure the racquet before and after stringing. That will show you how much distortion is occurring.

 

[ricardo]

Good idea...

Just measure the racquet before and after stringing. That will show you how much distortion is occurring.

I plan to string one of my vintage rackets 50/25 using soft multi/smooth poly and see if it improves spin. If it does and the racket does not break or warp, I will then use Natural gut/smooth poly at the same tension (50/25).

 

[GlenK]

That's a good idea. I have found that my racquets play better if I can keep distortion to a minimum. At my current tensions my racquet only loses 1/16" in length after stringing.

 

[travlerajm]

50/25 string bed will have about the same string bed stiffness as stringing both at 37. That might be a little mushy?

 

[ricardo]

50/25 string bed will have about the same string bed stiffness as stringing both at 37. That might be a little mushy?

Maybe.

50 is for Natural gut.
25 is for poly.

I strung NG from 40 to 60. I did not notice a significant difference between 40 and 60 in terms of power except that at 40 the NG moves more. Even at 40, NG is still firm feeling. If you go to TW string db, NG stiffness does not change much under different reference tension unlike poly which can change as much as 30 pounds/in stiffness per 10 lbs increase in reference tension.

I also tried poly (Babolat Hurricane pro 18g) from 30 to 45 in the crosses.
30 is as stiff as 45.

 

[arsen]

Why reinvent the wheel? It is known which hybrids the Pros play with .Do the same. You're wasting your time.

 

[Soho78]

I tried a gut/poly hybrid 52M/48C in a 2023 VCore 95 and I warping was noticeable to the eye and confirmed in measurements. ~4cm shorter

 

[esgee48]

I hope you meant 4 mm and not 4 cm. And this thread is old - my bad.

 

[Soho78]

I hope you meant 4 mm and not 4 cm. And this thread is old - my bad.

Oh yeah. lol