Article 5: Stringing Tips

Hey Walax, I hope the start of this Spring Lax season is finding you all well. Now that I have covered stringing the components of a ballin’ mesh pocket, I’m back to cover some tips that can help when stringing that pocket.  While the maintenance required with a properly-strung mesh pocket is undoubtedly less than that of nearly any traditional pocket (a pocket strung with leather strips and cross-lace, for those unfamiliar), it is not negligible. I truly believe the better you take care of your stick/pocket, the better it will take care of you.

These tips I am about to share are by no means a secret throughout the lacrosse community, and they certainly will not make you the next Paul Rabil.  However throughout my experience I have found that they can save you time when stringing a head, minimize the amount your pocket deforms when saturated with water, as well as maximize the amount of hold you feel the pocket provides on the ball, while minimizing the whip experienced during passing/shooting. So let’s get to it.
 

1. Get your stringing material wet before stringing
As mentioned in a previous article, the fibrous material that companies use to produce most mesh and sidewall strings) is hygroscopic, meaning it will want to absorb water. When this happens, the mesh and sidewall strings will soften, and will stretch much more easily than dry. This material property is a good thing or bad thing, depending on how you look at it. When it comes to stringing a pocket, it’s a good thing, because you can stretch the mesh/strings with ease compared to the dry material. Even new hard mesh will loosen up with some stretching, and by soaking it in warm water to the point where it will string easily (it will harden when it dries out though). Wet strings and mesh allows you to string a very tight top string/sidewall with much less effort, and pulling the mesh tight to the perimeter of the head is the name of the game in terms of pocket consistency. Also, once the mesh has been strung to the perimeter of the head, and before the shooting strings go in, I always make sure to wet the pocket once more, and really inflict a beating on it using my pocket pounder (a bedpost works well for this too, just make sure whoever’s bed it is won’t mind first). After doing this and putting a ball in the head, it should be it very evident right away whether or not your pocket is of the general shape you want.
 

2. Prep the strings to promote ease-of-stringing
When stringing a mesh or traditional pocket, you frequently find yourself with a very small space in which to run the string through. With the aid of a good poking tool, and by applying what can be thought of as a “taper” to the end of the string, you can really minimize the amount of frustration and struggle it takes to string a lax head. This tip requires the use of a flame in order to seal the ends of the strings. Prior to even starting to string a head, I always cut my three pieces of string, two for the sidewalls, and one for the topstring (usually a couple of inches longer than the sidewall strings). With each string, I seal the end of the string by holding a flame to it momentarily, and tie a knot. Next I apply the taper. Sidewall strings are composed of numerous loose fibers making up the core of the string, and bound together with an exterior braid.  This braid can be pushed back on an unsealed string to expose the fibers.

With the braid pushed back, cut off roughly an inch of the center fibers.
 

Back at the other end of the string, pinch the string and work your fingers down the length of the string, to pull as much of the braid as possible past the trimmed center fibers. 
 

 Using your lighter, seal the end of the unfilled braid, attempting to minimize the size of the sealed string, since this is the end that will be worked through any tight spaces.

See the size difference between a regular sealed sidewall string, and one with the taper? Now that your strings are prepared, you can soak them in the sink before stringing.  When stringing nylon shooting strings, the above “taper” method works well. Unfortunately for the hockey laces, there is no fibrous core to the string. An attempt can still be made through creative trimming and use of a lighter to minimize the size of the end of a hockey lace, which will make it easier to string. Cut the hockey lace at a 45° angle.

Then seal this angled cut by exposing it to a flame briefly.

3. If your head rattles on your shaft, use some tape
 Everyone is probably familiar with this feeling, however it bugs some of us more than others. I have friends who couldn’t care less if their head rattled around on the shaft (resulting from an oversized fit of the head on the shaft), while I myself cannot stand it. Taping around the exterior of the place where the head and shaft meet is always an option, however I prefer taping over the end of the shaft prior to placing the head on. With the shaft and head separated, take a 4” piece of athletic tape, and run it over the exposed end of the shaft. 
 

From here, the head can be jammed back onto the shaft, and sometimes this requires more force than others. Also, some trial and error may be needed to find the optimal layers of tape needed to rid your stick of the rattle completely. If an excess of force is required to get the head back on the shaft, try warming up the throat of the head, using a blow dryer or holding it over a stove for a little while. Heating the plastic throat should cause the plastic to expand, and then contract once it cools. When using a blow dryer or stove to warm the throat, do not overdo it, the plastic should feel warm, but not too hot to the touch. This same philosophy can be applied when attempting to remove a stubborn head from a shaft.

4. To increase your grip on the shaft, try using wax on your tape
 Some players use athletic tape on their lax shaft in order to increase the grip they have on the shaft, as well as let their hands know when they are in the correct position to shoot. Bare athletic tape on the shaft can lose its grip over time, and is also subject to ripping when hit with a stick check. In order to help combat both of these issues, I thought back to my hockey playing days, when I used to wax the athletic tape on my stick blade, and then held a heat gun to it, in order for the wax to melt into the tape. This provided some water-proof qualities to the tape, increased the durability of the tape, as well as avoided the ‘waxy’ feeling left by simply applying wax to the tape. This same philosophy applies well to lacrosse shaft athletic tape. Using a candle, surf wax, paraffin (kitchen wax), rub it on the tape of your lacrosse shaft.

Using a blow dryer or heat gun roughly 6” away from the shaft, subject the waxed tape to heat. Start slowly with this, as it is much better to take your time with it than risk burning the tape. You will be able to tell when the wax has melted into the tape.

The left end of the tape has had the wax melted into it, and becomes darker. Repeat with additional layers as you see fit. I have also found that this waxing method can help breathe some life into old mesh. By rubbing wax all over a piece of broken-in mesh, then placing it in the oven at a temperature no greater than 225° F for roughly 2 minutes, the wax will melt into the mesh, without causing any negative change to the nylon fibers that compose the mesh. Repeat this as many times as you see fit, and your old broken in piece of mesh will now have some increased waterproof qualities, as well as an increased amount of hold, due to the texture of the melted wax in the mesh fibers.
 

There you go, four of my favorite tips to help set-up and string up a great lacrosse stick for the unique weather conditions we get to experience here in the Pacific Northwest!  As always, submit any questions, tips, or article requests to [email protected]

Stick Stringing and Stick Stringing and Customization services available as well! Check out my Webshots: http://sports.webshots.com/album/569159428bfRDyg