Drop Weight vs Crank

[Squidward]

In my stringing lifetime I've used a dropweight and a crank. After a short stint with a dropweight, I moved on to a crank. Went thru several upgrade with the crank and have used it for over 15 years. But, just this week moved onto a electronic.

A crank will fill your needs better until the urge strikes to move forward.

If you decide on a crank, email me. I might be able to help you out.

Good Luck!

[tennis4]

I found stringway's ML100 quite interesting. The simplicity of dropweight and its "automatic" feature are attractive. However, it seems few people mention it. I wonder why.

Originally Posted by Squidward

In my stringing lifetime I've used a dropweight and a crank. After a short stint with a dropweight, I moved on to a crank. Went thru several upgrade with the crank and have used it for over 15 years. But, just this week moved onto a electronic.

A crank will fill your needs better until the urge strikes to move forward.

If you decide on a crank, email me. I might be able to help you out.

Good Luck!

[SwankPeRFection]

Originally Posted by tennis4

I found stringway's ML100 quite interesting. The simplicity of dropweight and its "automatic" feature are attractive. However, it seems few people mention it. I wonder why.

Probably because it's expensive for what it is. Who's going to pay that much for a dropweight when they can get something cheaper and throw on an electronic head for less than what a Stringway is brand new?

[Peppershaker]

I've been very satisfied with my Stringway ML100. Seems like those who own them appreciate the workmanship of the machines, the simplicity of the design and the ease of use. In some ways the single drop aspect seems almost unfair to lump them in with other DW Machines.

There are a lot of good machines out there, and owners very devoted to them. If you are looking for a good reliable machine, nothing wrong with the Stringway models.

[tennis4]

Peppershaker, can you comment the speed or easy of use on Stringway ML100? Did the automatic lock feature really make it comparable to its electronic counterparts in terms of speed?

Sorry I don't mean to hijack the thread, I just feel this is the right opportunity to learn more about this drop-weight model.

Thanks!

Originally Posted by Peppershaker

I've been very satisfied with my Stringway ML100. Seems like those who own them appreciate the workmanship of the machines, the simplicity of the design and the ease of use. In some ways the single drop aspect seems almost unfair to lump them in with other DW Machines.

There are a lot of good machines out there, and owners very devoted to them. If you are looking for a good reliable machine, nothing wrong with the Stringway models.

[Peppershaker]

My machine is extremely easy to use and seems very consistent. Facing the machine with the DW on my right I lift slightly on the bar, use my left hand to pull the string thru the gripper (do so in a manner that it's snug...one motion). Then lower the bar with my right as my left hand moves to the clamp, unlocks the base then the unlocks the string, then slides the clamp to the next locking position where I lock the string and then the base. Often I can do this all with my left, but at time I'll bring my right hand over to lock the base. At this point my right hand raises the bar, which releases the string and the process starts all over.

The fastest frames I have done in just over 30 min., but this is a hobby and since I clean frames (literally wash them down in some cases), and then polish (car polish) them before and then after stringing I usually count on 1 hour per frame.

The key to these machines is that unlike the ratchet type DW that I learned on, with the Stringway rarely do you need to lift and drop the bar more than once per string. Key though is making sure you've pulled the slack out of the string before dropping the weight. If you do not do this the bar may bottom out before you reach the tension and you need to then lift the bar, release the string, pull the slack and then lower the bar.

When I purchased my machine I didn't understand the T92 clamps and budget wise I'd already hit my max, so rather than delay I was told by a knowledgably individual that the dual action clamps are relatively fast with practice and they were absolutely correct. I can certainly see that the T92 clamps would save some time, but since I can usually use the dual action clamps one-handed, not something that I've thought much about.

What bothered me about cranks was the issue of calibration, and the need to crank at a slow uniform pace. Having not used a crank, I liked the aspects of the consistency of a DW, that it's a constant pull unit, and that there was no reliance on springs or tension units. There are so few moving parts with the Stringway it's unbelievable. And what parts do move, are solid! Not to say that either of these are issues given the volumes used and the knowledge on this board, but for someone starting out w/o experience, w/o a tutor, and having only used an X-2 determining what to purchase can be nerve wracking.

As for electronic units, or used units & Wise heads......maybe if you're experienced but as a hobby I really didn't want one more electronic device that gets fried during a thunderstorm, or gives out on it's own volition.

Hope this helps. If you do a search on this board for Stringway you'll probably find a number of posts.

[Ramon]

Originally Posted by Peppershaker

My machine is extremely easy to use and seems very consistent. Facing the machine with the DW on my right I lift slightly on the bar, use my left hand to pull the string thru the gripper (do so in a manner that it's snug...one motion). Then lower the bar with my right as my left hand moves to the clamp, unlocks the base then the unlocks the string, then slides the clamp to the next locking position where I lock the string and then the base. Often I can do this all with my left, but at time I'll bring my right hand over to lock the base. At this point my right hand raises the bar, which releases the string and the process starts all over.

The fastest frames I have done in just over 30 min., but this is a hobby and since I clean frames (literally wash them down in some cases), and then polish (car polish) them before and then after stringing I usually count on 1 hour per frame.

The key to these machines is that unlike the ratchet type DW that I learned on, with the Stringway rarely do you need to lift and drop the bar more than once per string. Key though is making sure you've pulled the slack out of the string before dropping the weight. If you do not do this the bar may bottom out before you reach the tension and you need to then lift the bar, release the string, pull the slack and then lower the bar.

When I purchased my machine I didn't understand the T92 clamps and budget wise I'd already hit my max, so rather than delay I was told by a knowledgably individual that the dual action clamps are relatively fast with practice and they were absolutely correct. I can certainly see that the T92 clamps would save some time, but since I can usually use the dual action clamps one-handed, not something that I've thought much about.

What bothered me about cranks was the issue of calibration, and the need to crank at a slow uniform pace. Having not used a crank, I liked the aspects of the consistency of a DW, that it's a constant pull unit, and that there was no reliance on springs or tension units. There are so few moving parts with the Stringway it's unbelievable. And what parts do move, are solid! Not to say that either of these are issues given the volumes used and the knowledge on this board, but for someone starting out w/o experience, w/o a tutor, and having only used an X-2 determining what to purchase can be nerve wracking.

As for electronic units, or used units & Wise heads......maybe if you're experienced but as a hobby I really didn't want one more electronic device that gets fried during a thunderstorm, or gives out on it's own volition.

Hope this helps. If you do a search on this board for Stringway you'll probably find a number of posts.

That really sounds like a nice machine: all the benefits of a dropweight and the speed of a crank. I didn't get one because it was out of my budget, but now that I'm used to a dropweight machine, I think I would probably prefer a Stringway dropweight over a crank.

[tennis4]

Thank you for sharing the insight.

Pulling the slack out of a string probably is required for crank and electronic version too, I guess. I heard this stringway can't do 360 rotation, would that be a problem?

This model definitely is at top of my wish list ....

Originally Posted by Peppershaker

My machine is extremely easy to use and seems very consistent. Facing the machine with the DW on my right I lift slightly on the bar, use my left hand to pull the string thru the gripper (do so in a manner that it's snug...one motion). Then lower the bar with my right as my left hand moves to the clamp, unlocks the base then the unlocks the string, then slides the clamp to the next locking position where I lock the string and then the base. Often I can do this all with my left, but at time I'll bring my right hand over to lock the base. At this point my right hand raises the bar, which releases the string and the process starts all over.

The fastest frames I have done in just over 30 min., but this is a hobby and since I clean frames (literally wash them down in some cases), and then polish (car polish) them before and then after stringing I usually count on 1 hour per frame.

The key to these machines is that unlike the ratchet type DW that I learned on, with the Stringway rarely do you need to lift and drop the bar more than once per string. Key though is making sure you've pulled the slack out of the string before dropping the weight. If you do not do this the bar may bottom out before you reach the tension and you need to then lift the bar, release the string, pull the slack and then lower the bar.

When I purchased my machine I didn't understand the T92 clamps and budget wise I'd already hit my max, so rather than delay I was told by a knowledgably individual that the dual action clamps are relatively fast with practice and they were absolutely correct. I can certainly see that the T92 clamps would save some time, but since I can usually use the dual action clamps one-handed, not something that I've thought much about.

What bothered me about cranks was the issue of calibration, and the need to crank at a slow uniform pace. Having not used a crank, I liked the aspects of the consistency of a DW, that it's a constant pull unit, and that there was no reliance on springs or tension units. There are so few moving parts with the Stringway it's unbelievable. And what parts do move, are solid! Not to say that either of these are issues given the volumes used and the knowledge on this board, but for someone starting out w/o experience, w/o a tutor, and having only used an X-2 determining what to purchase can be nerve wracking.

As for electronic units, or used units & Wise heads......maybe if you're experienced but as a hobby I really didn't want one more electronic device that gets fried during a thunderstorm, or gives out on it's own volition.

Hope this helps. If you do a search on this board for Stringway you'll probably find a number of posts.

[Peppershaker]

The new Stringway machines have a Concorde option which provides 360 rotation. My ML100 unit is the older version w/o this option, but even w/o it I've really not seen much issue. The unit spins so effortlessly that again, its become such an ingrained motion and process that I do this w/o even thinking.

However, at some point I'm hoping to upgrade my machine to this simply because it seems like such a nice addition. Anyone out there upgraded their machine?

Overall there is a certain stigma regarding DW machines, but at the same time there are a lot of loyal DW users. Product may not be on the same plane as the expensive electronic units on the market, but my unit is well built, solid, easy to use and I've been very satisfied.

[Wuppy]

The fact that cranks aren't constant tension ruins them for me. Yes you can pull a few times and get some of the stretch out, but once you do all that then they're no better than a drop weight IMHO.

[KerryR]

Originally Posted by Wuppy

The fact that cranks aren't constant tension ruins them for me. Yes you can pull a few times and get some of the stretch out, but once you do all that then they're no better than a drop weight IMHO.

It's not that cranks are better, it's just that they're usually faster than drop-weights, usually cheaper than electronic, often better than CHEAP electronics , and still perfectly capable machines; as long as the person doing the stringing arrives consistently at the string bed stiffness the player likes/wants/needs the machine is largely irrelevant.