Thats very interesting... I do Harbito on about 300+ rackets and I had that same break happen to me only once... Should I stop doing Haribito and switch back to bottom up method?
Thanks that makes sense! guess if I start stringing crosses bottom up, then I should move my upper side supports higher too.
It's the frame shape that makes JS-12 break at the spot easier, which should be more aware of than other rackets. And I think there's a good chance to get a new one for Victor, too.
Exactly. On your machine, with two options to attach side supports to the arms, you should always keep on set of side supports in the higher holes and one set in the lower holes. Then attach your racket according to the direction you're going to string.
So having looked at your photo's i can see a few issues. Make sure the racquet is mounted centrally on the machine, i noticed that the frame supports ( posts) or completely off centre. I would make sure the centre of the head is over the 4 bolt holes on the turntable, make sure the post's are equally spaced. This will make sure that the support arms are in the right place. When it come to the fine adjustment of the supports i would line them up on the extreme pulls. so the supports are supporting on / around the pulls for the 11 string or outer main. As for stringing technique i would always follow the manufactures instructions on how the racquet should be strung. Victor used to prefer Victor loop ( 7T out to 12T and back in) and head down stringing. Now they are following suit with other brands like Yonex. So Victor now ask for a Yonex loop ( 9T out to 12T) and bottom up stringing. Rememeber that yonex 1st X is always 9T and other brands are nearly always 8T for the 1st X. I would always use a load spreader, it helps to balance the load out on the frame at the 12 o clock position, the use of a spreader on the 6 o clock is not necessary, but nearly all new machine now come with 6 o clock load spreader. As my machine comes with the load spreaders at both 12 and 6 i use both.
Didn't Victor doing bottom up stringing all the time? Since their stringing pattern was so familiar with Gosen's old pattern. And also, Yonex was the one changing from head down to bottom up in my recall.
AFAIK Victor was recommending a 1-piece Haribito-style (bottom-up) pattern since 2011 and have switched just a couple of months(?) ago. With starting their cooperation with Ashaway, they have apparently gone to a (pretty strange) 2-piece bottom-up: http://www.victor-international.com/documents/pattern_72.pdf http://www.victor-international.com/documents/pattern_76.pdf http://www.victor-international.com/documents/pattern_80.pdf The 5-/7-o'clock areas must look like a bloody mess of strings on the outside of the frame. Also, having three strings in one grommet must be against the rules of nature.
It's a mess there already. lol old pattern: http://i.imgur.com/v7hSOB5.jpg The new pattern mainly avoids using a starting clamp hanging there at 5-/7-o'clock.
If cross starting point tie off is a tripple hole after two crosses are pulled, you will need a starting clamp, right? Otherwise it should be the Yonex pattern where you tie off below the crosses? Or am I missing something? (I have never tried this Victor/Ashaway pattern)...
TBH I go for the standard YY pattern instead of this mess. So much untensioned string for the tie off is for me a no no. If somebody wants to get his knots away from the middle I suggest B9 for main tie-off and starting knot at B8. The switch backs for the outer mains are to me a must for 2-piece. Not any manufacturers advice is good. Some of them really designed some rackets with awful patterns. I just use two patterns. YY standard/ @kakinami modified and haribito basic. Anything else is IMO fancy without any advantages in terms of playability or my work flow.
IMO Every racquet is different and are layered up differently. Not 1 pattern is a golden winner. ERSA, UKRSA and USRSA all teach for you to follow the manufactures patterns. The manufacturer puts more thought into then you realise. If a warranty claim is made and the racquet has been strung incorrectly, then the warranty may be void. There is a reason why they ask for the racquets back with the string left in them. there are 3 rules to stringing Minimise racquet deformation. Minimise stress on the string. make sure every string is at the correct tension. If a racquet has been designed to be 22 x 23 and you decided to only string 22 x 20 and the racquet breaks due to the frame integrity being compromised who pays for the racquet? I agree sometimes the patterns are silly, but if they as for it then you should do it. Playability is affected, The DT would be different. 22 x 23 would have a higher DT than a 22 x 22 and 22 x 22 would be a higher DT than 22 x 21. DT = Dynamic Tension ( String Bed Stiffness). So in short if the racquet is designed to have 22 x 23 and you string it 22 x 22, Then you are compromising the frame integrity, your affecting the way the racquet was designed to play and also voiding the warranty.
Those Victor patterns look very odd - that gigantic loop from the last main to the knot? Added to the fact that top-down has been deprecated by Yonex. Ironically, I reckon the recommended patterns are more likely to crack a frame.
Victor have now updated their patterns. the victor loop was 7T out to 12T and back in towards the centre, it gave a short run to the knot in victors case 7T for mains, it also increased the String bed stability around the 11th, 10th and 9th string, resulting in minimal tension loss on those strings, Believe it or not you lose more tension on the out side main strings with the Yonex loop. I have had 1 racquet let go while stringing and the manufacture replaced it with out hesitation as there pattern had been followed. In tournament stringing every racquet is strung the same way, tension 1 either side and throat to head for cross's, we pay attention to 1st and last cross's and also knot placement. In short we make sure every string is present, in the right place and the knots are in the right place aswel