what machine to pair with wise 2086

[hitballhaha]

Hi! I want to add a wise 2086 to a used machine I intend to buy. Is this a good idea for around 1200 (wise 750 + whatever machine ), and what machines should I look for ? I preferably want a 6pt drop weight since they're cheaper than lockout machines. Thanks in advance!
edit: currently looking at a used tourna 150cs for about 400 or a superstringer t15

 

[Steve Huff]

I have an Alpha Apex. It works well, although I do no have 360 degree turning with a racket in place.

 

[Purestriker]

I have an Alpha Apex. It works well, although I do no have 360 degree turning with a racket in place.

Same. I’ve seen mods that can fix it by placing washers as spacers to lift up the mount so that it doesn’t hit the wise machine. Just haven’t tried it yet.

 

[Dags]

Some considerations:

- In general, drop weights are cheaper than cranks, which are cheaper than electronic. To achieve this, it often follows that other components are cheaper on drop weights - string clamps, base clamps, mounting system and even turntable. It isn't always the case... but if you're looking at drop weights then do compare the model with others from the same manufacturer to identify where they may have cut corners.

- If the plan is to add a Wise, determine what work might be required. They simply slide onto a crank arm - it's as straight forward as tightening a few screws. You may need to drill holes to fit the mounting plate on a drop weight base. Might be a piece of cake if you're handy, potentially daunting if you're not.

- That said, the stability of the Wise if it were screwed to a base would be marginally better than if it's on a crank arm. I don't mean you to overthink this - the Wise was designed to be a crank replacement and in 99% of cases it works exactly as intended - but there is a specific scenario where if you lock the turntable and try to pull tension with the string at an angle it will make the arm bend. It's not a big deal, there are ways around it, I really only mention it as if the previous note about the effort to mount the Wise on a drop weight was off-putting, the trade off would be ending up with perhaps a marginally better solution. (I have a Wise replacing a crank. It's fine. The only time I've ever wanted to pull at an angle is with Prince O-Port racquets, and it's been a long time since I've seen one of those.)

- You're almost certainly going to string standing up. Either buy a machine with a stand or have a plan for what you might put it on. And if it's a fixed surface, there needs to be room to rotate the racquet. The dimensions of the machine itself are not the final footprint required to string a racquet. Machines are also heavier than you might imagine.

 

[Purestriker]

Some considerations:

- In general, drop weights are cheaper than cranks, which are cheaper than electronic. To achieve this, it often follows that other components are cheaper on drop weights - string clamps, base clamps, mounting system and even turntable. It isn't always the case... but if you're looking at drop weights then do compare the model with others from the same manufacturer to identify where they may have cut corners.

- If the plan is to add a Wise, determine what work might be required. They simply slide onto a crank arm - it's as straight forward as tightening a few screws. You may need to drill holes to fit the mounting plate on a drop weight base. Might be a piece of cake if you're handy, potentially daunting if you're not.

- That said, the stability of the Wise if it were screwed to a base would be marginally better than if it's on a crank arm. I don't mean you to overthink this - the Wise was designed to be a crank replacement and in 99% of cases it works exactly as intended - but there is a specific scenario where if you lock the turntable and try to pull tension with the string at an angle it will make the arm bend. It's not a big deal, there are ways around it, I really only mention it as if the previous note about the effort to mount the Wise on a drop weight was off-putting, the trade off would be ending up with perhaps a marginally better solution. (I have a Wise replacing a crank. It's fine. The only time I've ever wanted to pull at an angle is with Prince O-Port racquets, and it's been a long time since I've seen one of those.)

- You're almost certainly going to string standing up. Either buy a machine with a stand or have a plan for what you might put it on. And if it's a fixed surface, there needs to be room to rotate the racquet. The dimensions of the machine itself are not the final footprint required to string a racquet. Machines are also heavier than you might imagine.

They do make a bracket now so you don’t have to drill to attach it to a drop weight. However, it still isn’t as stable as on a crank. But I don’t think the angle arm bend is an issue anymore.

 

[Wes]

Some considerations:

- In general, drop weights are cheaper than cranks, which are cheaper than electronic. To achieve this, it often follows that other components are cheaper on drop weights - string clamps, base clamps, mounting system and even turntable. It isn't always the case... but if you're looking at drop weights then do compare the model with others from the same manufacturer to identify where they may have cut corners.

- If the plan is to add a Wise, determine what work might be required. They simply slide onto a crank arm - it's as straight forward as tightening a few screws. You may need to drill holes to fit the mounting plate on a drop weight base. Might be a piece of cake if you're handy, potentially daunting if you're not.

- That said, the stability of the Wise if it were screwed to a base would be marginally better than if it's on a crank arm. I don't mean you to overthink this - the Wise was designed to be a crank replacement and in 99% of cases it works exactly as intended - but there is a specific scenario where if you lock the turntable and try to pull tension with the string at an angle it will make the arm bend. It's not a big deal, there are ways around it, I really only mention it as if the previous note about the effort to mount the Wise on a drop weight was off-putting, the trade off would be ending up with perhaps a marginally better solution. (I have a Wise replacing a crank. It's fine. The only time I've ever wanted to pull at an angle is with Prince O-Port racquets, and it's been a long time since I've seen one of those.)

- You're almost certainly going to string standing up. Either buy a machine with a stand or have a plan for what you might put it on. And if it's a fixed surface, there needs to be room to rotate the racquet. The dimensions of the machine itself are not the final footprint required to string a racquet. Machines are also heavier than you might imagine.

^^^
Top notch advice/suggestions from @Dags... as per usual.

@Purestriker is correct.
The drop-weight mounting plate options are more versatile (as well as being available in different heights) these days than they had been in the past - making it much easier to use them with a greater variety of DW machines (without requiring the need to drill).
Also correct that it's possible to raise the height of the turntable - on certain machines - to achieve 360° rotation (and I do believe some of the Alpha machines apply).
I've even seen someone on Fleabay selling a little kit (a spacer the right size + some longer bolts - to replace the shorter ones that are currently on one's machine) specifically for this purpose.
I mention this factoid for everyone, but tagging @Steve Huff on the off chance that he was unaware of this (& I'll be shocked if Steve didn't already know this).

@hitballhaha,
Send me a PM if you'd like some very thorough help.

Cheers, Wes

 

[hitballhaha]

Some considerations:

- In general, drop weights are cheaper than cranks, which are cheaper than electronic. To achieve this, it often follows that other components are cheaper on drop weights - string clamps, base clamps, mounting system and even turntable. It isn't always the case... but if you're looking at drop weights then do compare the model with others from the same manufacturer to identify where they may have cut corners.

- If the plan is to add a Wise, determine what work might be required. They simply slide onto a crank arm - it's as straight forward as tightening a few screws. You may need to drill holes to fit the mounting plate on a drop weight base. Might be a piece of cake if you're handy, potentially daunting if you're not.

- That said, the stability of the Wise if it were screwed to a base would be marginally better than if it's on a crank arm. I don't mean you to overthink this - the Wise was designed to be a crank replacement and in 99% of cases it works exactly as intended - but there is a specific scenario where if you lock the turntable and try to pull tension with the string at an angle it will make the arm bend. It's not a big deal, there are ways around it, I really only mention it as if the previous note about the effort to mount the Wise on a drop weight was off-putting, the trade off would be ending up with perhaps a marginally better solution. (I have a Wise replacing a crank. It's fine. The only time I've ever wanted to pull at an angle is with Prince O-Port racquets, and it's been a long time since I've seen one of those.)

- You're almost certainly going to string standing up. Either buy a machine with a stand or have a plan for what you might put it on. And if it's a fixed surface, there needs to be room to rotate the racquet. The dimensions of the machine itself are not the final footprint required to string a racquet. Machines are also heavier than you might imagine.

Hi, I do have some confusion on your reply, or I feel theres a misunderstanding haha... I intend to get a dropweight with 6 point mounting (x-6 fc or gamma 602 fc) since they're cheaper and I could still put a wise, without spending my ideal budget of around 12-1500

 

[Wes]

Hi, I do have some confusion on your reply, or I feel theres a misunderstanding haha... I intend to get a dropweight with 6 point mounting (x-6 fc or gamma 602 fc) since they're cheaper and I could still put a wise, without spending my ideal budget of around 12-1500

@hitballhaha,

Between those two machines (the X-6FC and the Prog. 602FC ), I'd suggest the Prog. 602FC.
It will be easier to mount the Wise unit (specifically, the appropriate DW adapter plate) onto its platform/base than mounting a Wise onto the X-6FC... and the 602FC costs less too.

 

[hitballhaha]

@hitballhaha,

Between those two machines (the X-6FC and the Prog. 602FC ), I'd suggest the Prog. 602FC.
It will be easier to mount the Wise unit (specifically, the appropriate DW adapter plate) onto its platform/base than mounting a Wise onto the X-6FC... and the 602FC costs less too.

Is 500 is a reasonable price for these, used but pretty good condition? As for other machines, it would be pretty hard to find any at that price point. My biggest concern right now is the mounting system, it seems like my rackets are bending ( they go back to normal when I cut the string out )when strung because the four supporting clamps aren’t holding evenly. Obviously it’s user error, but I would like to mitigate this as much as possible

 

[CVT]

I mounted the wise to an alpha dc pioneer plus stringer, and made modifications to get 360 degree rotation. I bought the low profile adapter plate and also some metal spacers and bolts to raise the turntable. It was a pretty easy fix to make. I do recommend my mod over the one on ****. Mine used stainless steel parts which are inherently stronger than the 3d parts from the **** solution. I believe I posted the parts in a previous thread, but dm me if you decide to go alpha and can’t find the posts. I believe the metal parts were cheap - around $10-20 total, plus the low profile adapter plate. The adapter plate was cheaper to buy from a UK based company shipping to the US. You also may be able to order the wise with the correct adapter plate to begin with.

 

[hitballhaha]

I mounted the wise to an alpha dc pioneer plus stringer, and made modifications to get 360 degree rotation. I bought the low profile adapter plate and also some metal spacers and bolts to raise the turntable. It was a pretty easy fix to make. I do recommend my mod over the one on ****. Mine used stainless steel parts which are inherently stronger than the 3d parts from the **** solution. I believe I posted the parts in a previous thread, but dm me if you decide to go alpha and can’t find the posts. I believe the metal parts were cheap - around $10-20 total, plus the low profile adapter plate. The adapter plate was cheaper to buy from a UK based company shipping to the US. You also may be able to order the wise with the correct adapter plate to begin with.

thanks for your reply! seeing the cost of the alpha pioneer, im inclined to just grab it brand new and save myself the troubles of crappy used machines. How would good would you say the clamps and locking system ?

 

[CVT]

That's what I did. The DC Pioneer was more than good enough for me, but I only string for myself. I'm not a pro, and I preferred tabletop to a stand mount. I don't really see much downside the the DC Pioneer Plus. The 6 point mount works exactly as it should. I don't use the brake, but it seems to work fine. The clamps aren't high end, but seem to do the job. Everything feels solid and rigid. It would be nice to have gravity release clamps, but the upgrade is too expensive for me to bother. If you buy it from a vendor like New Tech Tennis or a legit dealer, call them before ordering and ask if you can update the clamps at the time of order - so that you don't have to essentially buy both the stock and replacement clamps. They can probably subtract the cost of the stock clamps and charge you the overage for the replacement clamps. Credit to Wes who gave me that advice originally. It was too late for me, though.

 

[gmatheis]

It would be nice to have gravity release clamps, but the upgrade is too expensive for me to bother.

The gravity release function in my opinion is a gimmick because if you open the string clamp while the base is locked it can definitely scrape the string, for that reason even though I have gravity release clamps I always use the button to release the clamp base first and then open the string clamp.

 

[CVT]

Thanks for the insight. Maybe I'll have a little less envy then!