DizBoiDanny
Semi-Pro
I was looking through e bay and i came upon this unusual machine. 120384701475. I was wondering if it was the old machines back then? Not sure.
T-145II by Tremont Research?
- Thread starter DizBoiDanny
- Start date
I owned one of those back in the mid 80's. It was less than a hundred dollars new then. I mail-ordered it from an ad in Tennis Magazine. I probably strung about three or four racquets on it before I figured out that I would rather pay someone to string my racquets than go through the hassle of using the Tremont stringer. I think somewhere over the years I threw it in the trash. Took me about 20 years before I got the nerve to buy another stringer after using that thing.
I think one member (LttlElvis) posted that he still owned one.
I think one member (LttlElvis) posted that he still owned one.
Yeah, I still have mine. This is the Tremont T-145:
http://www.photostringer.com/tremont_t145_01.htm
The Tremont T-145II is the same except the tensioning post swivels to get closer to the racquet. I bought that tensioning system about a year later and it was pretty flimsy. The machine was originally less than $80 including shipping. The current bid on that is $50 and $15 shipping.
It's not worth it.
http://www.photostringer.com/tremont_t145_01.htm
The Tremont T-145II is the same except the tensioning post swivels to get closer to the racquet. I bought that tensioning system about a year later and it was pretty flimsy. The machine was originally less than $80 including shipping. The current bid on that is $50 and $15 shipping.
It's not worth it.
MAX PLY
Hall of Fame
I had one as well--back in the late 70s/early 80s. At the time, it was all I could afford and for the 70 bucks or so I paid at the time, it did ok and I actually used it for several years. However, it is very slow and there is not much room to weave the crosses (in one of these various threads I described how it worked if you want to know more about it). And, importantly, I used it on wood (hence smaller headed) racquets then. As a conversation piece, I might buy one but I would not recommend using a TR for today's racquets. It is pretty inferior to even the inexpensive machines of today. Save your money for something better unless you are a collector. Good luck.
Irvin
Talk Tennis Guru
Yes they can
MAX PLY
Hall of Fame
Yes, the TR should work for most of today's racquets. That stated, if you find one, it's going to be pretty close to 35-40 years old--they were pretty solid but I have no idea if they are that solid. I had one in the 70s and it was serviceable but it's very slow and probably not very accurate by today's standards. Do a search on these boards and I think I have a post where I described how it worked in detail. I appreciated it when I was 13, but not sure I'd be so keen on it today.
It will work, but you can’t use the cross bar on wider racquets. The supports are narrow in width. Think width of a Prince original graphite. However, may not be needed with the lower tensions and stronger racquets we use today. I was stringing Prince racquets 72 - 80 lbs.
Irvin
Talk Tennis Guru
Not sure what you mean by wider rackets. I just tried it on a 110 si Prince Bolt racket it spans wide enough and the Bolt is 11.25" wide but the racket is too thick and about 1" thick. The cross bar only handles racket up to about 7/8" thick and I would not try it on a racket it barely fits on
polksio
Semi-Pro
Took me 3h30 to string one racket haha. But essentially had to do things three times over because first time stringing ever
Weaving crosses is a bit of a pain though cause no space
Also, can one string the first 4 mains on the right and then the 4 mains on the left with just 2 clamps and the starting clamp or do you need a third one?
Weaving crosses is a bit of a pain though cause no space
Also, can one string the first 4 mains on the right and then the 4 mains on the left with just 2 clamps and the starting clamp or do you need a third one?
Folsom_Stringer_Musa
Professional
On my machines yes. Should be OK to do with 2 clamps but I do 3 at a time.
You need a third clamp to string alternate sides for the mains. Originally, it came with 2 clamps and the instructions said to string all the mains on one side, tie off, then string all on the other. Extra clamp was an optional purchase at first. Later models came with a 3rd clamp and swivel tensioner.
Irvin, by wide I did actually mean racquet thickness. I was thinking the 90s term “wide body” racquets as was used back in the day.
Rabbit
G.O.A.T.
Originally, it had a starting block. It was a little gizmo that you put the first main in and it had a thumbscrew with holes in it. You used the supplied tool to ratchet it down. It served as a starting point for stringing. Once you finished one side of the mains, you could start the other and take off the starting block.
MAX PLY
Hall of Fame
^^^Rabbit is spot on. Back in the day of wood racquets and lower tensions, I suppose I wasn’t as concerned with stringing a whole side first. Perhaps consider procuring another flying clamp (but not sure that’s not investing too much).
I will state that the lack of room to weave the crosses is a pain and my hands were much smaller when I was 12—but, perhaps ironically, I got super efficient with my technique.
I will state that the lack of room to weave the crosses is a pain and my hands were much smaller when I was 12—but, perhaps ironically, I got super efficient with my technique.
polksio
Semi-Pro
Ah I see, I'm only stringing with low tension for now (low 40s) to try it out, i hope its ok.
Today took me 2h for a complete cleanish job (noticed a two misweaves on the last two crosses so its nit that significant, i can play with it) Weaving is so hard especially the lower half of the stringbed. I start serially ****ing up like clockwork because the poly is so stiff and yhe lack of space. I might start playing with hybrids just for this reason alone haha
