Crank or Drop Weight: Which is Faster?

[onotu2]

Called Tim this morning, his first words were that I would receive my machine today. Woo Hoo! The UPS tracking number also confirms.
The lack of communication from Tim on order status was a little unnerving, but i'm hopeful it was worth the wait. Must admit, i was getting excited about ordering a Neos since i got to use one over the weekend - it's a nice machine. Hope you guys get good news and receive yours soon. Also, please share your thoughts on the stringer when you get a chance.

[bravm3pwr]

onotu2, hangzhou

I got my UPS confirm today. LF shipping and tracking needs lots of improvement.

onotu2, what did you order?

[onotu2]

bravm3pwr,

got the MS200TT w/single actions clamps. also thought about getting the stand, but Tim convinced me it was best to order a media (video projector) cart from Staples that has shelves, wheels and adjustable height. glad to hear you'll be getting yours soon. i'm starting to think Tim is a one man show in that Rhode Island office, hence the disorganization when it comes to shipping and notifications- you'd think that stuff would be automated.

[hangzhou]

Talked with Tim this morning and received email from him this afternoon. I was told that UPS/Laserfibre will refund the shipping charge and there is no way to expedite the shipping, so my machine will arrive this Thursday hopefully.

It's UPS's fault after Tim proved with pick up list for my case. I have same feeling that Tim has huge hands taking care of everything. But should we receive the tracking # early, then delay might be...

Will share whatever I found on my MS200 ECO with you guys....

[onotu2]

Got it!
Instructions are the worst i've ever seen. Fortunately, it's not hard to figure out. I was a little freaked out that the tension rod doesn't have the scale numbers affixed to it, you have to use a ruler! Setting up the ruler against the weight is easy, but what would it cost to attach a label to the rod. The mounting system took a little time to get just right - i hope with a some practice it'll get easier. Specifically, lining up the white plastic posts (don't know the tech term) against the frame and adjusting the hold down clamps took more time and fidgeting than i had expected - i kept having to make minor adjustments as the frame would rock or move. Must admit, i was being extra careful and taking my time to really get a sense of the role for each mechanical part, so that added to the time.
Okay, so that was the hard part. Once the racquet was mounted, the actual stringing was so easy and smooth, I'd even describe it as fun. Btw, the racquet was a POG mid. The clamps (single action) were great, even though they were sticking a bit on the glide bars at first, but loosened up after some use. I used the Laser Supreme Natural string (17g) which felt very soft, but the clamps did a great job of holding with no crimping or marking - my klippermate vice-grips or gamma fly clamps can't touch it. Feeding the string and pulling the tension is where this machine rocks. It was fast. Which brings me back to my original post. I had a chance to use the Neos 1000 over the weekend (btw, the mounting system is much quicker and cleaner) and i can tell u imo the Laserfibre is not only marginally faster, but it's also easier on the hands. Let's not even get into into the constant pull thing, which in of itself is awesome.
Overall, i'm very happy, and looking forward to doing more racquets - never thought i'd say that!

[onotu2]

Just got off the phone with Tim. It's definitely worth giving him a call to clarify things. for me it was mounting. i feel a lot more confident now. also, he explained that they don't affix a decal to the rod because it's an expensive piece (hand rolled stainless steel). it also contributes to weight of the pull, and they are afraid that over time a decal could come apart and gunk up the rod. he suggested marking the rod with a permanent marker for tensions u use the most. also pointed out that as far as sequence on mounting goes, start with the head inside supports, flip on hold downs (don't tighten) move down to throat inside supports, (adjustment for racquet length should only be made to throat support post only) flip on hold downs. inside supports should just touch frame, should not fit snug or require pushing the racquet down in place as you may get distortion when you tighten the hold downs. Tim's uses just the right lingo and illustrations to clear things up, you should be stringing in no time. Let me know how u do with your machine. Maybe we should start another post.

[topspin]

Ok I've been checking out this thread regularly just to see if and when you would get your machines. I must say you guys are very patient. I also had to wait a few weeks when I got my MS200TT (was called the ML100) back in Dec 2000.

Onotu, your feedback is pretty much what I expected. Yes the instructions are very simple and really only cover the basic parts of the machine with some little tips here and there. I spoke to Tim about it many times and he mentioned he was working on a video, which would be great. The fact that the numbers are not on the rod was explained to me as being because of the various combinations of weights (you can have 3 combinations if you buy the extra weight depending on the tension range you want to), it would simply clutter up the rod too much. Also with time the numbers could disappear by getting scraped, so they came up with the ruler. You can still use a marker to mark certain points on it yourself. I did it too, you can check my pics at http://photos.yahoo.com/topspin_tw

The mounting system is a lil tricky. You can have the top mounting post always fixed and tight as they say in the instructions. The back one you adjust based on the racquet you're doing. What I do is position first the head of the frame on the white thingies and loosely tighten those top hold downs. Then I align the throat white thingies so they're positioned the way I want them once the frame is fully mounted. So I adjust the back mount post and the height of those throat white supports. Once it looks good, I bring back down the height of the white supports and tighten the mounting post. Tighten these well so they don't move. Then I loosely tighten those throat hold down supports. Then I alternate tightening all 4 hold downs until I got a nice snug fit. Finally I bring those throat white supports back up as close to the grommets as possible. Since I tested the height earlier, they should line up really close to the frame and be only slightly loose. If they're too tight, you will need to readjust your throat mounting post. Then bring you 12 o'clock support up against the frame. Again make sure you don't overtighten it, it should loosely be thouching the frame. Just remove any slack.

Once you're frame is mounted properly, you can string with peace of mind knowing that your frame is sitting in the safest mounting system in the world and you're racquet is as safe as can be.

I like that you describe the actual stringing as fun. I feel the same way. I love breaking strings just so it allows me to go string again, lol. Clamps are great yes, as is tensioning, so smooth and easy.

As you get used to the mounting and making sure you move the single action clamps from the base so they slide easily, you will enjoy the machine even more.

[onotu2]

Thanks Topspin,

That's pretty much how Tim explained it, but reading it again always helps. Turns out i got one of the original instruction sheets which is a straight translation from Dutch, and explains why it was so bad. I understand there is better reworked one that typically goes out - did u help write this? Was worried that maybe i made the wrong choice after trying out the Neos, but the smooth operation and constant pull have me convinced otherwise.
Thanks again.