Lax Doctor

Just a few insider secrets. If you have any tips or tricks of your own, please post as comments. We are starting a new series of stringer tips!

Hot water and mesh – When you first get that new piece of hard mesh; it is sometimes just too hard. Soaking the mesh in some hot water can loosen it up and make it easier to string. If you’re looking for a more permanent fix to soften your mesh try using fabric softener. If you don’t have actual fabric softener a dryer sheet will do fine. Damped the dryer sheet and rub/massage the dryer sheet on the mesh. Be sure to rinse the mesh thoroughly.

Colored sidewall/crosslace – With certain suppliers and depending on the manufacture of your sidewall or crosslace, some colors have the tendency to bleed. To keep both your white mesh and white head, white, rinse your sidewall or crosslace before stringing with it. Cut the amount you think you will need and run it under some warm water with a dab of soap. Most supplies have resolved the bleeding issues, although it is not entirely uncommon to have some string that does bleed.

Goalie shooting laces – First off, if you’re a goalie learn to string your stick. Everyone should know how to string their own stick, but especially goalies. Not only will you be able to save a reasonable amount of money over the years, but, you will understand the mechanics of how your stick throws. For those goalies that can string their stick one problem you may find is the length of your shooting laces. Some supplies do sell goalie length shooting laces but, the color line is usually quite limited and the laces are not always in stock. An alternative is to tie two regular length shooting laces together. You will have plenty of length to string all the way across a goalie head.

Disclaimer

warning: Parent or guardian supervision and help required. Stringing your stick can result in serious injury. LaxDoctor.com is not responsible for the results of your actions. Be Careful! 

Supplies

For this tutorial you will need a mesh kit, we recommend one from Authentic Lacrosse (Use the Build a Kit menu and choose 10 Diamond to pick all your colors), scissors, a lighter (Be Careful Please!), and some patience.

Depending on your mesh kit you may or may not have to cut the the sidewall into the various lengths. If you have one large piece of sidewall it should be cut into the following lengths. Beginner stringers… you may want to make the sidewall cuts slightly longer than needed until you have a hang of it. The following lengths are needed.

(1) 40″ Sidewall Cut - This will be used as our topstring attaching the mesh to the scoop of our stick

(2) 32″ Sidewall Cuts - These will be used as our sidewall strings to attach the mesh to the holes running down the length of the stick (the sidewall)

(1) 18″ Sidewall Cut - This smaller cut will be used to attach the end of the mesh to the throat (bottom) of the head

In addition to the above sidewall cuts your mesh kit should also include at least three shooting laces and of course a piece of mesh.

Topstring

The Topstring is a vital part of the mesh pocket. The topstring not only hold the mesh to the stick but it also greatly determines how the ball will feel when it leaves the stick. As rule of thumb the topstring can never be too tight to the plastic scoop, the tighter the better. If your hands don’t hurt a little when your stringing the topstring your probably not pulling tight enough.

 We are going to begin with stretching the mesh. This minor yet important step will make the rest of your time stringing much easier. To stretch the mesh begin at one end and pull apart; slowly work your way down the mesh. Repeat this process a few times until the mesh is roughly 5 to 6 inches wide. Once the entire mesh piece has been stretched out focus on stretching one end slightly more than the rest of the mesh, this will become your top.

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