My First Stringing Job - Ever

Stringing a head is a vital skill for nearly every laxer. So far I have avoided this task by ordering my heads pre-strung. Part of this was due to me not knowing what type of stringing I preferred and part of it was simply not knowing how to do it. When my new Adidas Grant head came unstrung, I had little choice but to learn how to do it myself.

Grant, Unstrung

Thank God for You Tube. After a quick search, I found videos produced by the Denver Outlaws featuring Brendan Mundorf. Mundorf's instructions were simple and easy to follow. I had always heard that the topstring is very difficult, but I had no issues thanks to Mundorf.

Video 1 - Topstring
My Topstring

Adidas was very kind and gave me plenty of options for stringing the sidewalls. The holes are numerous and close. I took some creative liberties with placement as Mundorf's own head obviously lacked many of these. The overall result seemed to work just fine though. The sidewalls are secure and tight, like they should be.

Video 2 - Sidewalls

My Sidewalls

Unfortunately there were no Mundorf videos for shooting and V strings. For this I carefully studied my current stick (Warrior Mojo) and worked backwards.

My Mojo

There are several different ways to string shooters, but I have gotten very familiar with the stringing on my Mojo. The Grant head needed to come out as close as possible. The first step is using only a nylon string (aka piano wire) up top instead of a hockey lace.

Piano Wire

Then a pronounced V-string is made at the top of the pocket. The V string is hockey lace and is not fed through the sidewalls. This was probably the trickiest part of the whole process as I had to make sure that the pattern was the same on both sides of the V.

Lower V String

My Mojo has a double V string so I tried to emulate this feature as well. With the tightness of my sidewall stringing, I found that I really could not get the V placed in the same spot. So I modified it a bit. Now it is a hybrid of a V and traditional shooter. Having done a little wall ball, it seems to work just fine.

Finished Product

The important thing to remember with the V strings is to keep them balanced across the mesh. Also, do not over tighten the lace or it will impact the whip. The top shooter, however, should be tight.
I left the excess strings uncut for now. After I can get outside to shoot and pass (damn rain), I will make adjustments as needed. I am confident that not much will be needed. Like I previously mentioned, I did wall ball a bit and it seems to be throwing alright. The pocket seems perfect (for my tastes) and it cradles extremely well. A full assessment of the stringing - and the head itself - will come once I get a chance to use it a bit.