What is a “drop weight” stringing machine?
A drop weight stringing machine relies on a lever and a weight to tension the string. To achieve a certain tension the weight is moved to a specific location on the lever. The string is attached to a gripper at the base of the lever. The lever is then tilted (to the right in this picture) to pull the string. To achieve correct tension, the lever must come to rest in a horizontal position against the pull of the string. For a number of reasons, drop weight stringing machines are the least convenient on the market. The most significant problem is that accurate tensioning is only achieved when the the drop weight comes to rest in a horizontal position against the pull of the tensioned string. Deviations from the horizontal create deviations in tension. To achieve a horizontal end state, a specific amount of slack must be left in the string before pulling it. The amount of slack varies with the length of the string and its composition so that an operator often needs to reposition the strin
