The Klippermate comes with their two floating clamps, straight awl, pliers, and that's about it. Is there anything you people recommend buying to make stringing better and easier (ie: better clamps, new equipment)? Klippermate users who have experience with other machines especially what do you think?
Klippermate - Should I upgrade or buy new accessories?
- Thread starter M C
- Start date
better clamps would be my vote; the klipper ones can slip if you aren't careful and aren't the easiest to adjust for diferent gauges of string. proper cutters might be useful for trimming string neatly compared to using pliers. having said that, didn't find any great problems with using the klippermate as it arrived plus some strong scissors back before laserfibre/stringway tempted me too much
Craig Sheppard
Hall of Fame
I'm in the same boat as you M C, I own a Klippermate and am finding it a bit stifling to string much with it. It's fine for my own racquet now and then, but now that I'm playing a lot more and have a racquet that wears on strings, the speed of it is weighing me down. Plus I have an opportunity to string for others, but not with the K-mate. So I'm kind of keeping my eye out for a decent priced stringer that will be faster.
I've had my Klippermate for 3 years now, and find the clamps are the weakest part of the unit. Something could be said about the mounting, but it's done its job so far. The clamps are rather fickle though. I don't clean them often though, so that may solve some problems.
I don't see how the K-mate could be upgraded too much other than the clamps. The drop weight will always be the limiting factor IMO.
-Craig.
I've had my Klippermate for 3 years now, and find the clamps are the weakest part of the unit. Something could be said about the mounting, but it's done its job so far. The clamps are rather fickle though. I don't clean them often though, so that may solve some problems.
I don't see how the K-mate could be upgraded too much other than the clamps. The drop weight will always be the limiting factor IMO.
-Craig.
i just bought my gamma progression like 2 mounths ago. Just last week my uncle told me he had a klippermate in his garage that he doesn't use and will give it to me. I asked him why he didn't use it and he said that paying 12 dollars for a string job over stringing it himself is always better than wasting a hour stringing it and paying 6 dollars for the strings.
Craig Sheppard
Hall of Fame
Wow where can you get a string job for $12? Any club here is going to cost $30+, and if you don't care about quality you could take it to some sports superstore, but they charge $20 just for $3.75 Prince Syn Gut. Nice that your Unc can get it for such a good price; for me, I'll gladly do it myself.
-Craig.
-Craig.
matchpoints
Professional
Craig, i think i should move to IL and start a stringing business 
Where I do part time work, the stringing labor goes anywhere from $3 (students and such) - $12 (pro shop).
For Example, Babolat Hurricane is $8.95 at TW. Over where I work, it's $26 including labor.
Btw, I'm known as the $10 stringer since I do a lot of string jobs (including strings as long as they don't cost more then $5) for $10.
Where I do part time work, the stringing labor goes anywhere from $3 (students and such) - $12 (pro shop).
For Example, Babolat Hurricane is $8.95 at TW. Over where I work, it's $26 including labor.
Btw, I'm known as the $10 stringer since I do a lot of string jobs (including strings as long as they don't cost more then $5) for $10.
Craig Sheppard
Hall of Fame
Maybe I'm just running in the wrong circles! I enjoy stringing though, trying new strings and such at a whim, so I'm not complaining.
-Craig.
-Craig.
LoL, In South California ,orange country to be specific, we have local vietnamese-american of small tennis shops. I used to goto this one place that the owner is a GREAT stringer, he was trained by a retired american stringer who used to own his own store. Anyways, the owner would do a stringjob according to how much the strings costs. For example if stamina costs $5 wholesale, he adds $8 dollars for labor and it equals to $12 dollars
The only prob is that i break stamina every other day.
The only prob is that i break stamina every other day.
Klippermate's floating clamps work fine, provided you clean them after stringing, say, three to five racquets. If you do this, they require very little tension to hold a tensioned string, and the string won't slip if the clamps are clean. You should also clean the gripper jaws at the same time.
Frequent maintenance on the clamps and jaws will make stringing with a Klippermate easier on your hands, the floating clamps require less pressure to close, and they are easier to open. It takes me from 25 to 35 minutes to string a racquet, at a comfortable pace, using a one or two-piece method.
Frequent maintenance on the clamps and jaws will make stringing with a Klippermate easier on your hands, the floating clamps require less pressure to close, and they are easier to open. It takes me from 25 to 35 minutes to string a racquet, at a comfortable pace, using a one or two-piece method.
Rubbing alcohol will do. I use a product called Bestine Adhesive Remover. I work in publishing and we used to use this solvent to remove glued typeset galleys from mechanicals. Bestine is an excellent all-purpose solvent, but, as with any solvent, it is flammable and you want to use it in a place where the fumes can escape. Just follow the precautions that are printed on the container.
Any solvent will do, even inexpensive rubbing alcohol. But if you want Bestine, it is available from graphic arts supply stores. Just be certain to ask for Bestine Solvent and Thinner. Here's a site showing the product:
http://www.best-testproducts.com/bestine.html
Any solvent will do, even inexpensive rubbing alcohol. But if you want Bestine, it is available from graphic arts supply stores. Just be certain to ask for Bestine Solvent and Thinner. Here's a site showing the product:
http://www.best-testproducts.com/bestine.html
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