bravm3pwr
03-25-2004, 04:27 PM
My impression of the LaserFibre MS200TT.
Finally after 3+ weeks of waiting, I got my LF 200TT today. It came in 2 boxes, very carefully packed. Not that heavy to my surprise. The base of the unit is probably made out of bent steel or aluminum not quite sure but it’s not very heavy. The base on the Gamma 602FC is way heavier. The turntable on the other hand feels and looks very sturdy. Yeah, the manual is not very well done, actually its just 3 sheet of papers with printing on both sides. Even with my lousy writing, I can put together a manual better than this. With that said, I had no problem putting the machine together. Machine tolerance is very precise, excellent built quality.
Stringing
Wow, this thing is great. I used to string on a 602FC and there is no comparison.
The three biggest selling points for this machine are:
1. The drop weight does not have to be horizontal. It took me awhile to get used to this but once you are expose to it, you’ll wonder why you would string on a standard drop weight.
2. The clamps are probably the best that I have used. I polish of my 300G in about 45 minutes, which is probably very slow to most but its quite fast for me. No slippage, no sore fingers and palms that I would get working on the old 602.
3. The tension mechanism, the clamshell thing is great. I looked at the picture on the Internet but you really have to use the machine to appreciate the engineering that went into this thing. Plus the way the arm automatically disengages to allow tensioning is very cool.
Minor Rant
Ok, so nothing is perfect. Here are a few things that IMHO could make thing machine better.
1. The scale that was provided to place the weight is about 5lbs. off. I’m wondering if this is why everyone is saying the LF machines string tighter than other machine at the indicated weight. I hooked up a digital scale and confirm that it was 5lbs. off at every tension indicated by the ruler. Has anyone done this to confirm?
2. The tensioning rod does not have tension marking on them. I’ve read Onotu2 query to LF about this and I actually don’t buy the bit about the rod being some hand roll cr@p and stickers that can come off excuse. The solutions would be to etch the markings into the metal. Then there would be no stickers to wear off and no deviation in the bar. The only benefit to this is would be my #1 rant.
3. The base of the machine could be built with cast steel/aluminum. Just something more substantial! Don’t get me wrong here, the thing is extremely stiff and will not bend or twist under any condition. But on my old 602, the machine would not move, even when I put a lot of force to tie off the mains and crosses. With the LF, I had to brace against the machine to finish off my ties.
4. The Mounting is fantastic on this machine but I believe the Gamma and Alpha mounts are easier to work with.
Ok so there it is, I will write a follow up after I string a few more racquets.
Finally after 3+ weeks of waiting, I got my LF 200TT today. It came in 2 boxes, very carefully packed. Not that heavy to my surprise. The base of the unit is probably made out of bent steel or aluminum not quite sure but it’s not very heavy. The base on the Gamma 602FC is way heavier. The turntable on the other hand feels and looks very sturdy. Yeah, the manual is not very well done, actually its just 3 sheet of papers with printing on both sides. Even with my lousy writing, I can put together a manual better than this. With that said, I had no problem putting the machine together. Machine tolerance is very precise, excellent built quality.
Stringing
Wow, this thing is great. I used to string on a 602FC and there is no comparison.
The three biggest selling points for this machine are:
1. The drop weight does not have to be horizontal. It took me awhile to get used to this but once you are expose to it, you’ll wonder why you would string on a standard drop weight.
2. The clamps are probably the best that I have used. I polish of my 300G in about 45 minutes, which is probably very slow to most but its quite fast for me. No slippage, no sore fingers and palms that I would get working on the old 602.
3. The tension mechanism, the clamshell thing is great. I looked at the picture on the Internet but you really have to use the machine to appreciate the engineering that went into this thing. Plus the way the arm automatically disengages to allow tensioning is very cool.
Minor Rant
Ok, so nothing is perfect. Here are a few things that IMHO could make thing machine better.
1. The scale that was provided to place the weight is about 5lbs. off. I’m wondering if this is why everyone is saying the LF machines string tighter than other machine at the indicated weight. I hooked up a digital scale and confirm that it was 5lbs. off at every tension indicated by the ruler. Has anyone done this to confirm?
2. The tensioning rod does not have tension marking on them. I’ve read Onotu2 query to LF about this and I actually don’t buy the bit about the rod being some hand roll cr@p and stickers that can come off excuse. The solutions would be to etch the markings into the metal. Then there would be no stickers to wear off and no deviation in the bar. The only benefit to this is would be my #1 rant.
3. The base of the machine could be built with cast steel/aluminum. Just something more substantial! Don’t get me wrong here, the thing is extremely stiff and will not bend or twist under any condition. But on my old 602, the machine would not move, even when I put a lot of force to tie off the mains and crosses. With the LF, I had to brace against the machine to finish off my ties.
4. The Mounting is fantastic on this machine but I believe the Gamma and Alpha mounts are easier to work with.
Ok so there it is, I will write a follow up after I string a few more racquets.