mellofelow
Semi-Pro
Excited like a boy waking up on Christmas morning, I drove 20 minutes to the Maxline/Eagnas warehouse during my lunch hour to pickup the Flex 940. Earlier that day I had called Victor and made the arrangement for a will-call pickup. He seems like an ok guy, but not much of a conversationist. In the midst of our dialog, he made a sly remark in respond to one of my questions. I didn’t know if he was being sarcastic or humorous… or both. My impression was that Victor is no tennis or racquet sport aficionado but strictly a business man. However, even that assumption is debatable.
Arriving at the warehouse, I wasn’t surprised so see that the entire Maxline business enterprise was just that… a warehouse. Frankly, this is quite typical of ‘mom & pop’ type of operation. Regardless, my mission was accomplished after I picked up a big box and loaded into my car.
Later in the evening, I spent a good hour carefully examining each part and assembled it all together. Everything went as well as I expected. It was getting late but I was optimistic that I should be stringing my racquets the next day. But before I call it a night, I wanted to make sure all the intricate parts such as the mounts, clamps are operable and more importantly, the crank tension head is calibrated.
This is where the reality sets in. While checking the racquet mounting system, I discovered one of the four independent adjustable mounting arms was defective. Basically one of the knobs controlling the outer mounting wing was not working. “Just great,” I thought to myself. Making another trip back to Maxline (Eagnas) is as much fun as going to the dentist. The mounting post can be exchanged easily but as disappointed as I was, I didn’t bother to check the clamps. However, I wanted to make sure the tension head is calibrated.
Not to long ago, I made myself a digital tension calibrator from a fishing scale tied to tennis strings. Using the turntable brake, I locked the turntable with both mounting posts parallel in-line with the tensioning crank. With the scale hooked to the far post, I pulled the string, along with the digital scale to 50 lbs (limit of the scale). I was pleasantly surprised to see the tensioner was fairly accurate but also noticed that the tension drops fairly quickly. This was something I haven’t encounter with my old Ektelon. Bewildered by the phenomenon, I tried it several times but I began to notice each time as I would pull to tension, the mounting arm/post would flex a little. The movement was very subtle. So subtle that I don’t think anyone would notice but I had to guess it was about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch inwards. Speechless and disturbed by this discovery, I can only imagine how disfigured my precious racquet would look like after tightening all 16 mains to 60 lbs each.
After closer inspection of the structural integrity of the mounting system, I have to conclude that the stainless steel turntable just isn’t strong enough. Should there be close to 1,000 lbs of tension pulling inwards, this fairly thin sheet of metal would have to give. I wondered if my old Ektelon had this problem so I walked a few steps away and studied the old-faithful. No comparison… the Ektelon’s turntable and support mount was a single hunk of steel; so solid that I’d trust it if I had to use it as a jack for my car.
So I pondered my options. The defective mounting arm had to be replaced but would I keep this stringer given the evident structural flaw? NO CHANCE IN CHINA!! The decision was easy. Now the problem is what are my options? In the course of an hour, I had gone from excitement to extreme trepidation. The thought of asking for refund from Maxline must be like taking a bone from a pitbull. Somehow, going to the dentist isn’t so bad after all. Maybe the defective arm was a blessing in disguise.
Back to my computer, I surfed the Eagnas website and researched what seem like hundreds of other manual stringing machines. Obviously my goal now is to perhaps trade my 940 to some other units with much stronger turntable and mounting system. After a bit analysis paralysis, it’s evident my only other options are the 900le or the 910. And of course, it’s going to cost me BIG TIME! From what I can see, the only differences between the two are $50 and the braking system. Believe it or not, I do use the brake often – sometimes to calibrate tension, and always set when I store it in the corner of the garage. So 910 it is!! And I’ll also gain a pair of spring assisted swivel base clamps. If this unit is functional (BIG IF) and sturdy enough, I figured it will be my last machine.
I spoke to Victor the next day and addressed the defect issue and my desire to upgrade to the 910. He agreed as long as the 940 is still in brand-new condition… no problem there. Our conversation wasn’t as cordial as I described but we got to the point. For those of you thinks customer reigns supreme, I suggest you desensitize yourself and give Victor a call.
Tomorrow’s another day… to be continued.
Link to Eagnas Flex 940
Link to Eagnas Combo 910
Arriving at the warehouse, I wasn’t surprised so see that the entire Maxline business enterprise was just that… a warehouse. Frankly, this is quite typical of ‘mom & pop’ type of operation. Regardless, my mission was accomplished after I picked up a big box and loaded into my car.
Later in the evening, I spent a good hour carefully examining each part and assembled it all together. Everything went as well as I expected. It was getting late but I was optimistic that I should be stringing my racquets the next day. But before I call it a night, I wanted to make sure all the intricate parts such as the mounts, clamps are operable and more importantly, the crank tension head is calibrated.
This is where the reality sets in. While checking the racquet mounting system, I discovered one of the four independent adjustable mounting arms was defective. Basically one of the knobs controlling the outer mounting wing was not working. “Just great,” I thought to myself. Making another trip back to Maxline (Eagnas) is as much fun as going to the dentist. The mounting post can be exchanged easily but as disappointed as I was, I didn’t bother to check the clamps. However, I wanted to make sure the tension head is calibrated.
Not to long ago, I made myself a digital tension calibrator from a fishing scale tied to tennis strings. Using the turntable brake, I locked the turntable with both mounting posts parallel in-line with the tensioning crank. With the scale hooked to the far post, I pulled the string, along with the digital scale to 50 lbs (limit of the scale). I was pleasantly surprised to see the tensioner was fairly accurate but also noticed that the tension drops fairly quickly. This was something I haven’t encounter with my old Ektelon. Bewildered by the phenomenon, I tried it several times but I began to notice each time as I would pull to tension, the mounting arm/post would flex a little. The movement was very subtle. So subtle that I don’t think anyone would notice but I had to guess it was about 1/16 to 1/8 of an inch inwards. Speechless and disturbed by this discovery, I can only imagine how disfigured my precious racquet would look like after tightening all 16 mains to 60 lbs each.
After closer inspection of the structural integrity of the mounting system, I have to conclude that the stainless steel turntable just isn’t strong enough. Should there be close to 1,000 lbs of tension pulling inwards, this fairly thin sheet of metal would have to give. I wondered if my old Ektelon had this problem so I walked a few steps away and studied the old-faithful. No comparison… the Ektelon’s turntable and support mount was a single hunk of steel; so solid that I’d trust it if I had to use it as a jack for my car.
So I pondered my options. The defective mounting arm had to be replaced but would I keep this stringer given the evident structural flaw? NO CHANCE IN CHINA!! The decision was easy. Now the problem is what are my options? In the course of an hour, I had gone from excitement to extreme trepidation. The thought of asking for refund from Maxline must be like taking a bone from a pitbull. Somehow, going to the dentist isn’t so bad after all. Maybe the defective arm was a blessing in disguise.
Back to my computer, I surfed the Eagnas website and researched what seem like hundreds of other manual stringing machines. Obviously my goal now is to perhaps trade my 940 to some other units with much stronger turntable and mounting system. After a bit analysis paralysis, it’s evident my only other options are the 900le or the 910. And of course, it’s going to cost me BIG TIME! From what I can see, the only differences between the two are $50 and the braking system. Believe it or not, I do use the brake often – sometimes to calibrate tension, and always set when I store it in the corner of the garage. So 910 it is!! And I’ll also gain a pair of spring assisted swivel base clamps. If this unit is functional (BIG IF) and sturdy enough, I figured it will be my last machine.
I spoke to Victor the next day and addressed the defect issue and my desire to upgrade to the 910. He agreed as long as the 940 is still in brand-new condition… no problem there. Our conversation wasn’t as cordial as I described but we got to the point. For those of you thinks customer reigns supreme, I suggest you desensitize yourself and give Victor a call.
Tomorrow’s another day… to be continued.
Link to Eagnas Flex 940
Link to Eagnas Combo 910
