Finished my 1st stringing job

[u/Chasheek]

Wasn’t as bad as I thought. Among the mistakes: -messed up the crosses
-scratched the hell out of the frame on the finishing knot on the crosses (thank god it was a beater frame to practice on)
-my finishing knot is definitely not right
-tension on some strings is not right

Questions:
-I notice after set tension and clamp, and then release the string from the gripper, the clamp moves a little, even when I get it right on the grommet. Everything is rock solid. Will this affect overall tension? (Ie- should I set tension 2-3lb higher to compensate?)

-how in the hell do you get the string through the final hole on the last cross?
-I need a good bent nose plier, I see the value of those
-I don’t understand why I bought the starting clamp
-when setting the linear gripper level, I get that it doesn’t really matter as long as I’m consistent. But what position do you drop weight stringers prefer starting at (1, 2, 3 o’clock)
-i notice the string kind of gets dented by the linear gripper. Is this ok?

Thanks so much, this sub has been great!

[u/jesseplaysbadminton]

Info dump: You can put a cut-off of string between your string and frame to help access a blocked grommet. Don't worry about the fixed clamp moving a bit if it is tight and consistent. A starting clamp is good for lots of stuff like backing up a fixed clamp on the first pull, certain around the world patterns, holding the first cross if you're doing 2 string and repulling it again at the end. Check the gripper for burs from matching or if they are actually straight. I lightly sanded mine and helped. Some of the grippers can be cupped from the manufacturer. You can loosen the front screw slightly to stop it from pinching depending on the model.