Anyone buy a stringer and then was sorry they did?

[topanlego]

Fixed clamps are a more important feature than crank vs dropweight in producing a more consistant string job.

Sorry... Practice and experience is the most important feature. Too bad you can't buy either.

 

[mikeler]

The convenience factor is major. If do not live near a ProShop you can spend loads of time and gas money making trips to drop off your frame and then have to pick it up two days later. It was major factor for me. Having said that, I do not love to string, but try to do it while doing something else as someone else posted above.

I still enjoy it for the most part but I usually partake in a beer or two with something on the TV to enhance the whole experience.

 

[bad_call]

Sorry. I disaggree. The drop-weight Klippermate I have is wonderful and does a GREAT job. It is not as fast as the high dollar machines (albeit only about 10-15 minutes faster for someone who is familiar with the electric stringer) but for the money, it is a great machine. It can replicate results consistenly time after time. That is the most important aspect when buying a machine. Can you get the same results over and over. Unless you are planning on stringing multiple racquets a day, I would not worry about the high dollar machines. A simple drop weight will do you fine.

no argument here. should have bought one sooner...can't have enough good tools.

 

[JT_2eighty]

I still enjoy it for the most part but I usually partake in a beer or two with something on the TV to enhance the whole experience.

That's my strategy as well. Weaving can be tedious towards the end, especially with poly, but in all it's nice for the convenience and knowing that you are the one to blame or praise when a stringjob goes sour or great!

That said, a beer or two is good, as one time instead of beer I was drinking whisky and let's just say that's a recipie for disaster. Almost 3 hours to string a frame, but I guess I was having fun! (it was a friend's frame at that, full poly, but he's raving about the WC silverstring I suggested, and I omitted the drunken stringing part of the story to him... although I did warn him to watch the knots and that I would replace the job if they came undone, which they didn't).

Oh and the best part of the drop weight is that consistency, as long as you clamp well you won't have to calibrate gravity!

 

[mikeler]

Weaving the last 3 strings on my PST is no fun. I finally got around to purchasing a starting clamp today to keep the starting knot from sinking in the grommet since I string them 2 piece.

 

[Marshredder]

I string the 4 racquets I use for tournaments maybe once or twice a month, I should really really buy a stringer, I'd make mymoney back in a couple of months, its just... I cant be bothered?

 

[armsty]

$24 a month? Say a machine is $400 for you, so that's about 18 months till your money's back. Having said that, do you have the time to learn and then do it.

A good way to make money out of it is to get your name out there for people. Free labor for first half a dozen people if they pay for string and get your name around worked for me.

 

[leafscat]

Weaving the last 3 strings on my PST is no fun. I finally got around to purchasing a starting clamp today to keep the starting knot from sinking in the grommet since I string them 2 piece.

After a while you will wonder how you lived without it!

I agree with many of the others that fixed clamps are more important than dropweight vs crank. I have a dropweight (with fixed clamps) and like that I get constant pull and don't need to worry about calibrating.

I also looked for quite some time before purchasing and noticed that used stringers in decent shape sell very quickly. Bottom line, not much risk in buying. If it is not for you just sell the machine.

 

[mikeler]

Sounds like the OP has limited time, so I think he/she will only be doing their own sticks.

 

[mikeler]

Calibrating my crank machine is no big deal. You don't have to do it every time.

 

[Hominator]

Calibrating my crank machine is no big deal. You don't have to do it every time.

How often are you supposed to calibrate a crank machine and what is involved? Thanks.

 

[mikeler]

How often are you supposed to calibrate a crank machine and what is involved? Thanks.

I think YULitle recommended every 25 string jobs if you don't move your stringer around much. So I checked mine when I was playing poorly after about 30 jobs and sure enough, it was 4 pounds low. I bought a Gamma calibrator from TW shown in the picture below. I have not had to calibrate since then. The calibration involves adjusting a set screw on the tensioner. It took maybe 2 or 3 minutes. You just pull tension with the strings on the calibrator attached to a clamp and see if the tension on the calibrator matches what you have it set for and then play around with the set screw from there.

 

[LanEvo]

got a question, do dropweights need to be calibrated ? bc i have use dmine for a while already, but not sure if im actually getting the said tension the bar, so is there anyway to check? or do i just have to buy a tension checker?

 

[Zhou]

Drop weights only need to be calibrated once. Usually they don't vary much with the bar unless you drop it or something. Pretty much you should be fine as long as you don't drop the stringer.

 

[blue12]

gamma X2 rocks. I've had one for like 4 years. I think Gamma is the best brand for drop weights. If you buy one for like 130 or 150 i'm sure you could sell it for 100 and not lose much, if you decided stringing isn't for you.

 

[ladude1957]

Sorry... Practice and experience is the most important feature. Too bad you can't buy either.

Sorry...While I agree that practice and experience are very important. All things being equal, fixed clamps are better than flying clamps. That was my point. Practice and experience are not a feature of a stringing machine. They are a feature of the person doing the stringing. Since you own a StringPal you may have experience only with a lower end stringing machine. Drop weight vs Crank is more about speed.

 

[brownbearfalling]

JACKB1:

Please Please take into consideration how much you love to play tennis. If you know you are going to playing or around the sport forever, the stringer will pay for itself. In the case that you do find something else or lose the time to play tennis, a stringer gathering dust in a garage is very sad.