Hi! I have been doing some research but still can't decide which stringing machine I should get. I will be starting a stringing business and I'll be stringing around 10-15 racquets a week. I want an electric stringing machine to save time and have mainly been looking att the Pro's pro Tomcat MT-400 and TENNISMAN StringMaster Pro 50 LE Electronic. Are there any others I should consider? My budget is 2000$ but preferably less. This will be my first stringing machine.
I'm just curious how you came up with your numbers and the premise/business case for your business, but are also buying your first machine? Does this mean you have prior stringing experience, or you're going in cold? Have you thought carefully about your rates, and do you have this business lined up? I'm picturing a school/university environment and this being an informal business (i.e. not paying taxes, not registering your business, etc.)? I've actually avoided starting a business (meaning I don't seek clients) because it takes time and effort,
and there's a lot of variability early on with how time efficient you can be with low(er) volumes. This is doubly true when you're in school. Having a trickle of a couple racquets a day is probably manageable, but being able to batch them
and have enough to batch while keeping your turnaround times reasonable is also helpful. Your time is also nickel and dimed by deliveries/pickups, etc., and it also reduces your time-freedom if that's important to you. If you come up with an arrangement with, say, a school tennis center where you can pick up and drop off, then that solves a lot of problems!
The Tomcat MT-400 looks like a better machine than the StringMaster you linked. Quicker (better?) mounting system and what appears to be switch action bases on the clamps. I bought the StringMaster Deluxe LE V3, which is a better machine in pretty much every way (mounting, clamps, tensioner). It's a little bit above your price range, assuming USD.
My brief comments/advice would simply be that you picked a bad budget and you should re-evaluate that. You're going to be stuck mostly in consumer-grade territory, and in terms of reliability for a medium volume business, you're probably going to end up with some down time.
I'm not going to wade too far into the Stringway side of things, but I wouldn't recommend one as a machine used professionally. I say this as a big fan of Stringway machines, too. I'd also clarify that it's not that I don't find the Stringway machines reliable enough for higher volume use - I'd say that due to the simplicity and overall build, they'd actually be
very reliable machines, but customers that have knowledge levels more than none will poo-poo any dropweights. I personally don't want to start out a customer interaction by trying to convince them that my setup and experience is legit. An investment into a "speaks for itself" machine may or may not be important to you, but it solves a lot of communication problems that you might not be aware exist. This all assumes your setup is customer facing, of course. If this
was a pickup/dropoff scenario, I'd be happy with a Stringway, but I've had shoulder problems in the past, so my days of pumping a weight are (probably) behind me.
@Risburk - I agree with others who've said 2 machines is bad advice. Given your parameters, 10-15 rackets a week and a sideline gig, you're fine with one machine. I string at home and do from 0 - 20 frames a week. I have one machine. In the 40 years I've been stringing, I've had one outage and that was due to a fuse - 2 days down. I use a 30 year old machine, Babolat (Mighty) Sensor, bought 2nd hand. With some folks, you ask them what time it is and they'll tell you how to build a clock.
As to your query, since you've done research, make sure you have local or regional support for the machine is my suggestion. I think
@diredesire just bought a TennisMan Stringmaster and he's been happy with it. Maybe he'll chime in. I think you're on the right path. Just keep it simple and with the money you've got allocated, you're going to get a decent machine. If you get a lemon, a regional manufacturer will give you quicker turnaround.
Good luck and have fun with it.
I dunno. I think those users have a point
if this business is truly your livelihood. If you cannot afford to be "lines down" and are hand-to-mouth on the income, then I think some sort of an insurance policy is reasonable. If you come at the problem with the lens of a home stringer as only a side-gig, then yeah, I agree with you. Since OP said it's fine, yes, one machine is the way to go. As far as my StringMaster machine, I've made a thread about it, feel free to search and ask questions. I wouldn't buy the machine you linked, though, OP.
I have found a company that sells Gamma X-els for 2380$ and Gamma progression 2 for 2280$. I've been interested in buying one of those aswell. Does anyone have any experience with them?
Yes, I worked at higher volumes than you're anticipating on the Progression ELS (non digital). I would not recommend it for medium-high volume use. It required a lot of maintenance, and the tensioner (again, non digital) was not ultra precise. I haven't checked out the new electronics, but that tier of machine just isn't what you're looking for, IMO. The clamp bases tended to get sloppy over time, and required frequent tightening, and the fasteners in the side-arm mechanisms can strip and spin. It's just not built for heavy duty use, IMO. Clamp texture and tensioner texture (diamond plates) get gummed up quickly, too.