How to get parallel strings on the side of the racket ?

First of all, don't get too hung up on this, especially since you are a beginner, there are much more important things to care for.

This. You just need to keep a close eye when you are threading the strings in these areas. Have a look where the strings come out over/under the other string in shared holes and on holes that are overlapped by others. You will get a feel for the whole topic once you build up more routine.

Personally, I have developed a serious OCD for looks on the outside of the racket. If having a really clean look with very little string running on the outside (which will automatically reduce the risk of bad crossovers) makes you happy, you might check out different (1-piece) patterns.

Just to get your mouth watering:




*coughcough*
https://www.badmintoncentral.com/fo...her-stringing-video-li-ning-n9ii-no-1.189398/

 

In my experience it's mostly paying attention to under/over the mains that are already inside the grommets.
But as s_mair said, it's not the most important thing. Being consistent and safe for the racket and strings is more important.

There are a couple of stringing videos posted recently by kwun, myself and s_mair to get some inspiration. The shared hole video by kwun on YouTube (BadmintonCentral yt channel) is also very good and useful.

Good luck!

 

I know EXACTLY what you mean.

Here is an older video showing the same pattern with some added instructions:

Will you do it with that ZF2 (and are the others Z-Strikes, am I correct?)? If so, you need to do it slightly different than what you seen in the video.

 

Forget that thought immediately. You won't feel a difference between different patterns if all are done equally well (and by the same stringer, same machine, same tension ratio etc.). Strings don't care from which hole they were coming from and which hole they are going next.

The key to a good string job is consistency. So the pattern that you feel most comfortable with and which gives you the most consistent results is the right one for you. That why it's worth trying out different one to see which one you like best in terms of workflow and looks.

 

Don’t be too hard on yourself. Do you feel that your own jobs play worse than others? Tighter/looser stringbed feeling?

You can achieve good results, even if you are still fighting with the details and take longer than others.

 

The way I make sure that the two strings parallel on the outside of the frame is just before the last pull of the second string I check if at the first grommet the second string comes out below or above the first string. Then when tensioning the second string I use my thumb to push the string in the direction it needs to go at the second grommet.

It's really easy, do not need much effort and works 100%.

 

Do you consciously do something for them to be parallel ?
Yes i do.

Crossed side string isnt that big of an issue and mostly aesthetic.
Some may say it affects the tension. Extremely fussy customer may flat out reject it.
And some may use it as a pointer to judge the stringer's competency.

You can achieve nicely paralleled side string with Yonex pattern, just got to be mindful when stringing over the covered grommet. Especially at the bottom 4/8 o'clock and 2/10 o'clock.

When tensioning the cross in this area, double check if its crisscrossing. If it crisscrossed, release that particular string and re-exit the grommet on the opposite side of the covered string. i.e. if you exit through the top before this, exit through the bottom.

You may use a spare string to hold the side string into position while you tensioning. But most of the time, its a matter of which side of the string it exits.

There are side string that just flat out stubborn though. No need to beat yourself over it.

 

That sounds really good to begin with and matches the experience of soooo many other newbie stringers. Many (shop-) stringers are underpulling, deliberately or due to lacking capabilites. If you compare to factory string jobs, the difference should be even higher. That your own fresh jobs feel a lot tighter is a tell that you are on the right track. Don't fall for any supposed shortcuts (like double pulling) cause those are things that really make a difference in the end result.

That looks really nice, well done. The fact that you were able to find a solution to finish the short side (and it's the best one in that case!) tells me again that you have a good understanding of the overall process already.

Most compact head rackets (like all Yonex "Z" models, JS10 and some AX rackets) have a slightly different (76-)hole pattern compared to let's say an Arc11 or the N9II in case of the video. You can count the number of strings that go through shared and single-pass grommets towards the top. So that makes regular ones like N9II a "2+3", the ZF2 a "2+4" pattern.

The only thing you need to change on 2+4 rackets is the starting point for the crosses. Instead of going down two holes into the lowest shared hole, you simply go down just one hole for the first cross. Then you will end up at the bottom still with two crosses left for the short side to finish off. Easy peasy.
Credit for this tweak goes to @speCulatius by the way. I used to do them the same as you did now for a while before he came up with that idea. Both options work, but the optimized one is looking even cleaner (see my pics above, that is also a 2+4 racket).

Edit: Just to add, if you're going for a good old 72-hole racket, then you also need to go down just one hole (which is the lowest top shared hole then too...).

 

Also @s_mair (16:05 to 16:40)

Just kidding, of course! You'll get there, don't worry too much about it. We all took time to learn, and that's okay!
Welcome to the BC Stringer Family!

 

Hahahaaaaa.... check and mate!

 

For the Yonex pattern I find it easier to clamp the last main strings at the top, then weave the first two bottom crosses before going back and tying off the last main. Having loose strings on those bottom shared holes makes it easy to get them all laying the way you want.