NEWS FLASH!! Matt21 Orders a Stringer!!!

[schenkelini]

I know what you are talking about with having to reach with flying clamps, but I have only found it a problem on huge rackets with wide patterns. I would say that 99% of the rackets out there are no problem.

Originally Posted by Irvin

First off let me say congratulation and I think you will be happy with your new stringer. I love to string rackets.

I doubt you know it yet but there are going to be some problems you will run into with flying clamps. Because of the way the clamps work you have to clamp two strings together. How do you clamp the first main and cross?

Flying clamps are set for one particular distance between strings. For all the rackets you string there will be a different distance from one string to the next between the first and second mains and the last and next to last mains. Same for crosses. Some times if the distance is substantial it is almost impossible to clamp to the adjacent string.

But where there is a will there is a way. If you run into problems let us know someone always has an answer. We are from headquarters and we are here to hep'ya. LOL

Irvin

[jmverdugo]

^^ there are 95~97 racquets that has very open string patterns, Prince racquets come to my mind, like the O3 Speedtour, the orange one.

[JackB1]

Originally Posted by Matt21

I beg your pardon, but my logic is not flawed. I just choose to look at it one way and you choose to look at it another. As I stated, if I walk into my local pro shop and say, "put that string in my racquet," my cost is more-or-less, $30.00. If I didn't purchase the X-2 and took 5 of my frames in for restringing, I'd pay about $150 before leaving. That would have been $150 I could have applied toward purchasing a stringing machine (that would have also thrown in 5 packs of string). Now, were I to buy my own string and take it in to get strung, it would run me $15 in labor costs. $15x5 is $75.00; but that doesn't account for how much each individual pack of string cost me. Depending upon where I purchased the string and what type, it could cost me more or less than $15.00 per, but that's beside the point.

So, you choose to look at it in your terms, but on my terms, if I have a $150.00 string job budget and I know 5 string jobs will run me the whole $150.00, if I take that stringing money and apply it toward the purchase of a $159.00 machine, and they're "giving me" 5 packs of string, my stringing my frame with free string cancels out my walking into my local pro and choosing string that costs (after tax) $30 (labor costs built into the price of the string). Therefore, they gave me "$150" back in string jobs. Guess what that means to me? It means I bought a machine for $9.00. $150 in "goods and service" savings is $150 I don't have to spend out of pocket later. A company who sells me a $159.00 machine and gives me, what has been to me, $150.00 in parts/labor savings (5 packs of string x $30 per stringjob), by my household economics, has sold me a machine for $9.00.

For all you literal people (and I'm one too ), I didn't ACTUALLY "purchase an X2 for $9.00," but I took the money I had from my stringjob budget and used it to buy a $159.00 stringing machine. By them giving me 5 packs of string, they kept me from spending an avg $30 per stringjob with my local pro.

Okay, I'm off my home economist's soap box; I'll leave the dead horse alone now.

My local store charges $12 labor to string. That means if I buy a $200 stringer, I will have to string at least 16 racquets just to break even. Plus, there goes about 24 hours I could have been doing something else. So if you are like me and string about once a month, you won't be saving any money until you are well into your 2nd year with the stringer and even then, you are only saving about $10 a month. Nothing to get too excited about.

[mikeler]

Originally Posted by JackB1

My local store charges $12 labor to string. That means if I buy a $200 stringer, I will have to string at least 16 racquets just to break even. Plus, there goes about 24 hours I could have been doing something else. So if you are like me and string about once a month, you won't be saving any money until you are well into your 2nd year with the stringer and even then, you are only saving about $10 a month. Nothing to get too excited about.

Don't forget less gas mileage to the stringer!

[High Roller]

Originally Posted by JackB1

My local store charges $12 labor to string. That means if I buy a $200 stringer, I will have to string at least 16 racquets just to break even. Plus, there goes about 24 hours I could have been doing something else. So if you are like me and string about once a month, you won't be saving any money until you are well into your 2nd year with the stringer and even then, you are only saving about $10 a month. Nothing to get too excited about.

Different strokes for different folks. Being able to do it himself better affords Matt the opportunity to test strings and stringing techniques to his heart's content, not to mention being more intimately connected to his sticks while increasing his knowledge base. Good stuff IMO. It is shortsighted to think only in terms of how much money is saved or how many string jobs it takes to reach break-even on the machine purchase.

You know the old saying: "Why does a dog lick himself? Because he can."

[topanlego]

Originally Posted by jmverdugo

^^ there are 95~97 racquets that has very open string patterns, Prince racquets come to my mind, like the O3 Speedtour, the orange one.

And wilson 16x patterns.

Stringway triple clamp to the rescue!!!

[tbuggle]

i'd venture to say it takes roughly the same time, maybe more for most folks to deliver a racket and pick it up from the pro shop.

time is a moot point in the equation, IMO.

i'll say it again, it's (home stringing) for the same reason that i change my own oil.

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by mikeler

Don't forget less gas mileage to the stringer!

AND back - two times.

Irvin

[Irvin]

Originally Posted by topanlego

And wilson 16x patterns.

Stringway triple clamp to the rescue!!!

And let's not forget the fan patterns. Some are about 1/4" at the bottom and over 1" at the top.

But for the most part those are few and far between you may never have one to string.

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=1538

Irvin

It most be so hard to string a Power Angle raquet.

[Irvin]

Power Angle rackets are not too bad at least all the strings are evenly spaced. Try stringing a Power Angle on the glide bar machine like the Prince NEOS 1000. IMO by far the best clamp system is floating clamps but no matter what clamps you have I think there is a way to string just about any racket.

You have to remember there are advantages to any type of system. Floating clamps are inexpensive (some are cheap and there is a difference,) and glide bar clamps are faster to string with. I have used all three and did not dislike any system. When I had the glide bar clamps though I seen a need to use the floating clamps at times.

Irvin

[aznfatmonkey]

Originally Posted by Matt21

I could almost see your argument about what you feel I really saved, but what if I bought a String Pal that came with no string and decided I'd "wait til later" to start stringing and later turned into 6 months? I can guarantee you I'd be getting my frames strung 4-5 times within that 6 month period. Based on my avg cost history, that's $120-$150 I've spent, all the while having a stringing machine sitting in my garage, waiting to be used.

Yeah, that's true. I assumed you would buy strings at the same time if you bought a different stringer, but I guess some people would put it off. I guess it doesn't really matter. The bottom line is that you bought a machine and you're happy with it. Have fun stringing!