How to String A Tennis Racket: The Crosses 

Hey Richard! At 1:19 it was very much sarcasm, because I also called out any RU-vidr that names their channel by their full name. Cheers!

@@MarkSansait I do apologise then, but my youtube channel started out as just that, my channel & that's why it has my name, that sort of grew and got a few more views. I didn't have a video of my knot on there for years as there were other really good videos out there showing it especially by Yulittle.

@@richardparnellknot Mr. Parnell, it's an honor to see you commenting sir. I learned the 'Parnell; knot from Youlite on RU-vid as you referenced. Beautiful knot btw - again an honor and THANK YOU SIR for sharing this with the tennis world.

@@cldavis33 Thanks for your kind words. I now do a lot more teaching than working on the tour. I get more satisfaction, the hours are better and occasionally the pay is better :-)) . Yulittle's videos are a great source for learning.

@@richardparnellknot Awesome to hear you are doing well. Funny thing on Youlite, I love his vids, but sometimes, I need to see the actual strings up close because they 'act/move' a little different than the demo rope he uses. --- which I saw Mark had, so both together really are very helpful. Best of luck to you in your current adventures.

:)

Caught that too but I've seen the second one simply called a "starting knot."

Do I get 10% of your revenue? :)

@@MarkSansait i didn’t get paid 😭

#ripoff

MAKE DAT MONEY

:) thanks for the insight!

No u

I get them all from retail. I ask what they want. I always have some polys and multis on hand in case they want me to use my strings.

I personally string my mains and crosses the exact same tension, some of my clients lower the crosses tension by 2lbs.

You are correct

@@MarkSansait I just realized you mentioned about notching the mains. Your channel is great and your comments are accurate, specially the Honda Civic with spoilers :-)

Was gonna ask for the same. Dude is super quick on those weaves! Especially towards the end of the crosses starts to get pretty tight. Nice vid!

Makes it look like magic

Could you do a video focusing only on the finger technique when stringing crosses and how to stop strings slipping between fingers? Looking for a video that shows how to hold the string between the fingers, which hand to use on top (dominant hand?), the weaving movement in closeup, the weaving rhythm. Step by step in closeup. I have seen only one youtube video which comes close to what I'm looking for but unfortunately not in english language. Is this some secret that pro stringers are reluctant to share?? The rest of the stringing process is easy

Yes, I will give my specific answer to this on my Q and A that will be released this Saturday morning.

I watched you Sat Q&A twice but didn't hear an answer. Did I miss it?@@MarkSansait

Either way (using a starting clamp or starting knot) is completely acceptable. Although I own a starting clamp, I'll use a starting knot on 99% of the racquets I string as it saves time since I'll only have to pull the top cross once.

I do the same.

JW and I seem.to have the same stringing technique

Interesting to know both techniques and then see which you prefer. 👍🏻

When I still new with stringing racquets I used to start with starting knot, now I use starting clamp and Parnell Knot all knots with additional 20% tension.

Not using the diablo means the angle of your string into the gripper is not completely straight, hence you may scuff the end of your string a bit. While it can be an issue if you are halfway around the racquet, on the very last cross it makes no difference (since the end of your string gets cut away anyway) and means you need less string length to reach the gripper. I always use extra 10pct tension on knots myself.

It helps weave the current cross much faster

@@MarkSansait actually I still cannot logically put it together that that particular method is faster still confused

@@j.hatchell9585 The mains are a little raised and lowered from the cross that is tight. The 2nd loose cross (the "one ahead") can almost "weave" straight through if you're weaving close to the crosses you've already done. If you tension then weave the very next cross, that path is significantly more "up and down". Try it both ways to feel the difference.

I made a video about that :)

Might try putting a scrap pieces of string in the skip holes so the mains won't block them as much. Also cut the cross tip at a very sharp angle and angle that bevel so the cross exits either above or below the main as needed.

@@pbillings808 besides the sharp tip, you can use the starting clamp to flatten the tip which makes it easy to slip the string above or below the blocking string.

Parnel allows a tighten stage before the final knot finish pull. Also Check that crosses are straight, they tend to get curvy near the bottom.

IsoSpeed Baseline Control. I did a review on it

I use two clamps because if the leading clamp slips (which happens from time to time), then the backup clamp will still hold the tension from the previous crosses!

Both. Depends on the client.

Thanks Mark and awesome video

Mebbe

@@MarkSansait 🙌🏻🤝

This is two piece. Two piece is always better

@@MarkSansait ty

Yep :)

In Canada, pro shops charge 20$cdn labour. Home stringers charge only $15, newbs charge 10$ to get foot in the door, those who try to charge same price as shops end up getting phased out since you have to offer an incentive for players to not go to a shop. I manage to generate consistent profit each year as a side hustle($5-10k annually). It is somewhat competitive amongst home stringers as small shops are slowly bleeding out with their huge overhead lease/rent cost per month, especially during covid times. Stringing a racket is not rocket science anyone can do it if they have the skill, patience and time, the demand and supply of the market(your area) dictates the price unfortunately. People with more $$ than time, will pay for these services regardless of price.

@@j1mster3 what's your tax rate on that $10K?

Of course!

@@MarkSansait dude, the fact that Parnell himself gave you the what for below makes this the best comment section ever.

Oof

It's not wrong. It's a different, yet acceptable, way to start the crosses hence the name "starting" knot.

@@JW-bw8nj You can distroy the grommet with your way of working.

@@Bikerbeest I used to string racquets as my profession and have used that method to literally string over 15,000 racquets and have never damaged a grommet from doing so.

What JW said

How about use a starting knot but only start pulling tension on the 2nd cross and after? I figured with a starting clamp, you're gona lose some tension anyway.

Here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-JarI-WG20CA.html