Mansewerz's Guide to Buying Stringing Machines

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Mansewerz said:
Put some poly into a rotational gripper and watch the string turn into a white color at the point that it is fed into the jaws after being wrapped and tell me that no bending is occuring there.
Click to expand...

I've strung plenty of poly on an X-2 and haven't experienced that. Perhaps, it's your machine/gripper.
 
ryangoring said:
Just asking MANSEWERZ...what would you recommend a beginner stringer like myself use, but in electric, inexpensive but of good value?
And may I throw in, any other type of machine drop weight or crank.
I would only string my own and maybe every couple of months I would do that.
Click to expand...

Electric and inexpensive don't go together in the same sentence if you want a good quality electric.

Hmm, stringing only every couple months?

I'd definately say a dropweight.

There are several choices in the guide, so depending on budget:
-Klippermate ($135)
-x-2 ($159)

Now if you want a bit higher, i'm not dissatisfied with my Silent partner swing. Great machine, good value at $199. You get some free string too (reel of syn gut)

I think the Alpha Pioneer DC Plus would be a bit overboard at the moment.

Definately get either the Klippermate or the Gamma x-2.

Read through the threads debating the Klippermate v.s the x-2 to decide which is more important to you in terms of stringing machines.

I think i'd personally prefer the klippermate due to the better clamps. The ratchet isn't that important.
 
mounting and unmounting a racquet on my gamma 6004 (same mounting as 8800els) one of only two things I still miss, the other part I prefered on the gamma over the Star 5 was the string gripper. the star five causes more ghosting on nat gut.
 
Mansewerz said:
Electric and inexpensive don't go together in the same sentence if you want a good quality electric.

Hmm, stringing only every couple months?

I'd definately say a dropweight.

There are several choices in the guide, so depending on budget:
-Klippermate ($135)
-x-2 ($159)

Now if you want a bit higher, i'm not dissatisfied with my Silent partner swing. Great machine, good value at $199. You get some free string too (reel of syn gut)

I think the Alpha Pioneer DC Plus would be a bit overboard at the moment.

Definately get either the Klippermate or the Gamma x-2.

Read through the threads debating the Klippermate v.s the x-2 to decide which is more important to you in terms of stringing machines.

I think i'd personally prefer the klippermate due to the better clamps. The ratchet isn't that important.
Click to expand...
I saw on the Eagnas, I know it is a bad word around here, but they had an electric machine for 179. I think it is called the hawk 20. What do you thinka bout this model.
But I am looking heavily on the Klippermate!
 
ryangoring said:
I saw on the Eagnas, I know it is a bad word around here, but they had an electric machine for 179. I think it is called the hawk 20. What do you thinka bout this model.
But I am looking heavily on the Klippermate!
Click to expand...

Cheap electrics from Eagnas are notorious for faulty operation, off center drilling, and other problems. Stay away from them.

I'd say get a klippermate. you can get a blemished one that works fine for $10 cheaper.

The only Eagnas' I know of that are usually never a problem are the Flex 940 and Eag 300.
 
Hey all, good thread going. I will sticky it after we do a little work on it, as I tend to try to get rock solid info in stickies. There are a few things that I slightly disagree with, but it's all a matter of pickiness on my part:

1) There is a difference between electric machines and electronic machines, IMO. Electric machines are machines that utilize electricity in order to power the tensioners. This does NOT mean that a machine is a true constant pull (all electronic machines are electric machines, but not vice versa). Electronic machines use sophisticated electronics (typically printed circuit boards with load sensing/tension monitoring electronics). These machines are typically (very close) to true constant pull, and are the "expensive" electronics you speak of.

Lower end electric machines only have very rudimentary "electronics," and they typically work with the use of a preloaded spring, just like a crank. IMO, the ESII+ is right in between true CP and crank, it adjust far less than my Laserfibre MS200TT (and I've had about 2 years of high volume stringing on one). It adjusts, sure, but not to very minute differences. I remember reading Gamma Tech commenting on the amount of change required for the tensioner to re-activate. I remember it being a pretty decent number, but I can't recall it off the top of my head.

As far as flying clamps, they can actually be FASTER than fixed clamps. Another (not widely used) name for flying clamps are "speed clamps." When you get used to flying clamps, you can really speed along a frame. I think this is slightly off. Also, I would also say that the industry's finest floating clamps are the Laserfibre brand. I also found the SP flying clamps to be better than the Klippermate clamps, which have been known (in the past, not so much recently) to have a few quality control issues (sharp edges which would break strings repeatedly)

Bud said:
Mansewerz - "A linear gripper causes less damage to the string because you don't have to wrap the string around it which bends the string and causes kinks (sharp bends in the string). Also, the linear gripper is pretty simple to use. Just put it in, and tension."

Rotational grippers do not bend the string or cause kinks in the string.

The clamps on any stringing machine are more likely (than any gripper) to cause string damage if they aren't adjusted properly.
Click to expand...

I have to agree with Bud here. A linear gripper in theory does not cause less damage to a string. The linear gripper relies strictly on the force of the gripper plates to smash the string and hold it in place (in more or less words). This is fine and dandy (since there is often a limiting screw on these plates), but a rotational gripper is often more gentle on the string due to friction as well as a tightening of the drum as necessary. I do agree that bends can occur, but any good rotational gripper should have a slight bevel to it, but this isn't always the case. It's all a sticky situation because there are well designed ANYTHINGs in the stringing machine world, and this is another one of those situatinos.

Mansewerz said:
Put some poly into a rotational gripper and watch the string turn into a white color at the point that it is fed into the jaws after being wrapped and tell me that no bending is occuring there.
Click to expand...
I rarely see polys change color due to bending, unless it's really bad...?

Also: Automatic dropweights: I'm not sure this category really requires it's own subcategory. I would put a note under regular dropweights, as the only machines that I am aware of that use this tensioning system are the LF machines and the SW machines. (Much overlap in this). Although honestly i don't think this needs to be changed, it's just a nitpick.


Mansewerz, I really like where this thread is going. Please shoot me an e-mail through the forum, or diredesire @ hotmail (they go to the same place).

I'd like to have a chat with you and see what I can do to clean this up and make it sticky worthy. I'm hoping some time this summer we can get a good S&S/SM forum stickies going, and there are a few good efforts going on right now. The only thing I am questioning at this point (in all the threads going) is the matter of opinion. If I put a sticky status for any threads I want the information to be less opinion, and more objective, as you stated in your first post. This effort is really looking pretty darn good, though.
 
E-mail has been sent Dire, i'm ready for any constructive criticism.
 
Hey everyone, i live in the UK at the moment and i'm looking to buy a good quality machine but i refuse to pay the ridiculous prices that they charge here in Europe. I'm thinking of maybe a Gamma 6004 or one of the similarly priced Silent Partner machines.

I haven't found a company yet that is willing to ship from the US to the UK so I was wondering if anybody had any ideas of how I could get a machine over here or if you know of a company that will ship a machine over here.

I might be travelling to the US soon and i've thought about bringing a machine over myself... Does anyone have any experince on travelling with a stringing machine?
 
I'm pretty sure that Silent partner doesn't ship internationally.
 
Well, what is your country's policy on taxing for oversea purchases?
 
There is a nice buyers guide in the latest issue of RSI (Racquet Sports Industry Magazine) August 2008 issue.
The article compares the machines in the following categories:
Sports(Tennis, squash badmiton),
Height, Stand, etc.
Mounting types (2-6 point) , locks, 360 degree, etc.
Tensioning type, and tension clamp type.and features,Nosecone diablo, linear, coated tension head, keypad, etc. etc. long list of features here.
Clamping and clamping types.
Extra features.
Weight.
Tools included.
A very nice article, covers a lot of machines out there (no eagnas listed, but eagnas seem to have a copy of most out there, ), along with the retail price.has a nice comparison chart of the machines listed, and you can see that you get what you pay for.

By the way, Joining the USRSA you not only get the publication monthly, but acess to their entire web site, also get free strings most every month, pays for itself. Also get a technical # to call if you get into a problem with stringing , a technician will guide you through personally. A great orginization to join, just my opinion.
 
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I'd like to see more information on:

automatic drop weights. Is there a model to recommend?

turntable thickness/flex. How important is this?

diamond coating. Is this important?

special problems/drawbacks with particular stringing machines, not just Eagnas.

tools for stringing.

badminton clamps. Some stringing machines come with these, or are optional.

which table-top machines can be put on a stand later?
 
superstition said:
I'd like to see more information on:

automatic drop weights. Is there a model to recommend?

turntable thickness/flex. How important is this?

diamond coating. Is this important?

special problems/drawbacks with particular stringing machines, not just Eagnas.

tools for stringing.
badminton clamps. Some stringing machines come with these, or are optional.

which table-top machines can be put on a stand later?
Click to expand...

http://tt.tennis-warehouse.com/showthread.php?t=207401
 
!Tym said:
People don't realize this, but a rigid turntable is very big factor in the effectiveness of a mounting system. The higher-end machines, their turntables flex appreciably less than the entry-level machines. I do think inside-mounting is better than 6-pt, but one of the reasons you find so many tour stringers in favor (besides the obvious time and ease of mounting benefits) is that the turntables on their machines aren't exactly Tonka truck quality, I mean that's some serious rigidity they've got going on there.
Click to expand...
Thoughts on this?
 
So say Im stringing a Luxilon/synthetic gut hybrid how much higher should I set the tension on each string if Im using a crank
 
5-10% higher than when it was strung with a constant pull machine.
 
Just a friendly bump for the newer users. I've got to find some time to revise this with DD.

:D
 
I have a question. I know people have been stringing with x-2 and they have no problem but i heard that the 2 mount will put extra stress on the frame so you have to becareful. Is that true?

I use the x-2 as well but I just started. It seems that I am loosing tention on my strings quick. I am using cheap polys but when I string my own racquets, I have trouble tieing the end and stuff. Is there specic thing I should do when tieing on 2 piece string because I whatched some videos and all it seems is that they just slip though and tie the knot.
 
teppeiahn1 said:
I have a question. I know people have been stringing with x-2 and they have no problem but i heard that the 2 mount will put extra stress on the frame so you have to becareful. Is that true?

I use the x-2 as well but I just started. It seems that I am loosing tention on my strings quick. I am using cheap polys but when I string my own racquets, I have trouble tieing the end and stuff. Is there specic thing I should do when tieing on 2 piece string because I whatched some videos and all it seems is that they just slip though and tie the knot.
Click to expand...

You should be careful on any machine, but I would say be especially careful on the lower end ones (i.e. SP swing, x-2, klippermate).

Now as for teh tightening, did you watch yulitle's video on tightening knots?
 
Mansewerz said:
You should be careful on any machine, but I would say be especially careful on the lower end ones (i.e. SP swing, x-2, klippermate).

Now as for teh tightening, did you watch yulitle's video on tightening knots?
Click to expand...

Yea I do it just like he explains. Maby my floating clamps are letting the polys slip.
 
teppeiahn1 said:
Yea I do it just like he explains. Maby my floating clamps are letting the polys slip.
Click to expand...

Yea, try adjusting your clamps. Use a crayon or sharpie to mark the string when clamped, and then check back to see if the mark moved.
 
From what I've read (which has been quite a bit so far) I think I'm going to go with the Revo. I like the idea of cranking vs a dropweight. At the same time, there's a part of me that understands the appeal (simplicity) of dropweight machines.

Initially I'll be stringing mine and my son's racquets, but my intent is to branch out and start stringing for the kids I teach, a few friends, and pretty much anyone in need of a string job. My goal is to become the Mansewerz of my neighborhood lol.

Even though I'm fairly convinced of my pick, I'll keep reading. Thanks for the info, Man...and to all the others who contributed!
 
COPEY said:
From what I've read (which has been quite a bit so far) I think I'm going to go with the Revo. I like the idea of cranking vs a dropweight. At the same time, there's a part of me that understands the appeal (simplicity) of dropweight machines.

Initially I'll be stringing mine and my son's racquets, but my intent is to branch out and start stringing for the kids I teach, a few friends, and pretty much anyone in need of a string job. My goal is to become the Mansewerz of my neighborhood lol.

Even though I'm fairly convinced of my pick, I'll keep reading. Thanks for the info, Man...and to all the others who contributed!
Click to expand...

Crank vs dropweight. Its got to be the dropweight because it has constant pull. A crank can lose up to 15lbs when compared with a constant pull.
 
Well, I did say I would do more reading, and that's what I've been doing (at work, slow night lol). After all the reading I've done, now I'm starting to lean toward a dropweight lol. I might change my mind a few more times before it's all said and done. I won't get all wishy-washy like Shamrod, however lol. I'm not obsessed with any false delusions about speed with respect to each type of machine and I also realize regardless of which way I go I'll be fine in the end.
 
A couple of people have posted that if you're going to string O3 racquets you'll want a machine with a brake. My son has a Ozone Seven - would restringing it on a machine without a brake be that much of a hassle?
 
COPEY said:
A couple of people have posted that if you're going to string O3 racquets you'll want a machine with a brake. My son has a Ozone Seven - would restringing it on a machine without a brake be that much of a hassle?
Click to expand...

Whoa, sorry for not replying earlier. No it will not be a major hassle, but a brake will help. I think ex03's will be a hassle without a brake. With the regular o ports, a sharpie cap can be used to separate the strings.
 
Should i try to get sports auth/dick's to string my racquet for cheap(like 1$) or do they suck at stringing?

Are there are any chain stores that dont charge $25 bucks for a string job? :confused:

Or should i try(key word) to buy a machine and string my own racquet? :shock:
 
tennisnoob2 said:
Should i try to get sports auth/dick's to string my racquet for cheap(like 1$) or do they suck at stringing?

Are there are any chain stores that dont charge $25 bucks for a string job? :confused:

Or should i try(key word) to buy a machine and string my own racquet? :shock:
Click to expand...

I am curious how would you go about getting someone at Dick's or Sports Authority to string your racquet for $1?

Your last question has been answered 100's of times on this forum, although I'm not sure why you emphasize "try" in it. Anyway, the answer is found with simple math. How much do you spend for the labor part of getting your racquets strung? How often do you have to string your racquets in a year? Does a family member also need their racquets strung? Then count those too.

For me, it cost $19 labor at my pro shop to get a racquet strung. Myself, my wife, and my daughter together needed 11 racquets strung over the last 12 months. $19 x 11 = $209 I saved by stringing myself in one year. I also strung twice for two different friends who either paid for their string or bought me a six pack of my favorite beer. Anyway, for $209 I could have bought a Klippermate, a Gamma X-2, or Alpha String Pal or any number of other inexpensive stringers. Then after a year I'm saving money by stringing myself.

If you string more than me, you can save money even faster or buy a more expensive machine. It really isn't a very complicated decision in the big scheme of things.

Personally I started with a Klippermate in 2005 (paid $149 including shipping) and after 4 years of stringing for myself, my family, and a few friends, I saved enough to justify spending the $500 I just paid for a very nice used Prince Neos 1000. YMMV.
 
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