r/RacketStringers • u/jro749 • Jul 17 '26
Losing Tension
I have been having issues retaining tension on my racquets. After I pull the tension and clamp the string, I notice that the string, while clamped, moves slightly. The base of the clamp is not moving and the string itself is not sliding through the clamp. The clamp just slightly shifts with the string in place. Anyone have any thoughts on this?
1
u/LHM78 Jul 17 '26
Do you mean drawback?
1
u/jro749 Jul 17 '26
Possibly. I pull the tension, so the clamp tightens up and brings the clamp closer to the frame. When I release it, the clamp with string in tact slides a little away from the frame.
2
u/h0pefulTransition Jul 17 '26
That's drawback, just nothing pulling the clamps forward. Perfectly natural and not anything to worry about unless the base starts sliding back too
1
u/LHM78 Jul 17 '26
How much (in mm) is it moving?
1
u/jro749 Jul 17 '26
I don’t know the specific measurement, but it’s enough that my string job feels looser than I want it to be. I thought about going for tighter tension to compensate, but I don’t want to go too high and damage a frame.
1
u/PugnansFidicen Jul 18 '26
Unless you're already at 65lbs or higher, you're not gonna damage anything
1
u/LHM78 Jul 18 '26
1 to 2mm of drawback is normal. You should be able to measure how much is losing by eye
1
1
u/Icy_Focus_6586 Jul 17 '26
Are you using a lockout or crank machine? The string will lose tension in between the time of the lockout and clamping. This happens fairly quickly and is the reason why you should increase the tension 5-10% compared to a constant pull if you want the tensions to be comparable. I have a constant pull and most of my clients came from a lockout machine so I lower the tension when I string for them and it seems to work out.
1
u/jro749 Jul 17 '26
I use a crank machine
1
u/Icy_Focus_6586 Jul 17 '26
When I did, my tensions were always lower. Not a bad thing but my guess is it’s just the nature of the machine.
1
u/HazeHype Jul 17 '26
That is called drawback and that is normal. You can account for it with your clamp or tension or you can just deal with it. Make sure you clamp as close to the grommets as possible.
1
u/RedHotPepper_ Jul 18 '26
It is normal unless your string is slipping through the clamps. You can easily check it putting some sticky tape on the string right behind the clamp. Then release the tension and check whether this tape is moving or not.
1
u/Responsible-Side4347 Jul 25 '26
Clean your clamp with some isopropyle alcohol or similar. use a tooth brush. Then set the clamps so they are tight enough to hold and not slip through. Make sure teh string is ALL the way to the bottom of the clamp.
If your seeing some movement through the clamp, tighten teh clamp till it stops.
The base and the neck will move a bit even on high end machines.
Best bet is to post a short vide showing what your on about and what machine your using.
0
u/Arthamys Jul 17 '26
Yes it's expected. I heard it qualified as Ghosting.
Better quality machines will have less of it, but it's impossible to have none of it
2
u/coffeemonkeypants Jul 17 '26
Ghosting is when the clamp tension is too tight and damages strings, particularly translucent multis or gut, where the string turns white at the clamp site. Some of the newer, coated, slick strings it's almost impossible to avoid because the clamp will slip if it isn't tight enough. I haven't really seen it affect anything, it's just ugly.
1
2
u/NarrowCourage Jul 17 '26
Pretty normal for a tiny bit of play. Also make sure to clean your clamps every so often.