What to make of this advice to "not buy a drop weight"?

[JavierLW]

I was told by a teaching pro friend of mine the other day that I should not buy a drop weight stringing machine.

He claimed it was very bad for my racquets and when he used to use one it tended to warp them. (he demonstrated how if you laid them flat on a table they would no longer lay perfectly flat)

And he claimed he would know because he supposedly strung up to 300 racquets with the thing. (which made me think if they were so BAD why did he do so many???? )

I suspect his advice is somewhat flawed considering all the people on these boards who are using drop weights as well as the YULITTLE video's etc.....

But it just made me wonder, what might of he been doing wrong if he's just warping racquets left and right like that? (maybe he's pulling the weight down instead of just letting it drop???)

 

[BagelMe]

Perhaps his machine doesn't have 6 point mounting. My friend has owned a gamma drop weight for a long time and I have never heard him complain about racket warping.

Also, I recently purchased an Alpha Pioneer DC+ (dropweight) and I haven't had any problems. In fact, I find very enjoyable and rewarding to string on my machine.

 

[rich s]

OP your friend doesn't know what he's talking about...

Look at the Alpha Revo 4000 and the Alpha Pioneer DC Plus

also look at the Gamma ST-II, Gamma X-ST, Gamma 5003 and the Gamma 602FC.

Each of the Alpha machines have the same turn table, mounting, clamps etc.....also each of the Gamma machines have the same turn table, mounting, clamps, etc..... the differences are that some are cranks and some are drop weights......

Do you really think that of any two machines that have identical everything except tensioner that one will warp racquets over another?..... NO

Tell your friend to stick to teaching tennis and forget about giving stringing machine advice.

 

[Richie Rich]

i strung on a drop weight for years. never warped a racquet

 

[toeknee]

i strung on a drop weight for years. never warped a racquet

x3 heh, your pro friend must be doing something wrong..

 

[toeknee]

btw, Ive been using a gamma x2 (two mounts only) for the longest time now.. no problems with warping yet

 

[pingu]

OP: Maybe the racket has already warped j.k.. I own and use a Klippermate for years w/o any issues.

 

[struggle]

your "pro" is an idiot.

 

[brownbearfalling]

There are different grades of drop weight machines. I think your friends advice is valuable in the fact that what he is sort of saying is that you should invest your money in a crank or electronic machine. Even though they are more expensive, they give you a better result; are faster, etc. If you are really on a budget and want portability, well then, go with the drop weight. They are functional. Just don't make the same mistakes your pro friend did.

 

[beernutz]

I was told by a teaching pro friend of mine the other day that I should not buy a drop weight stringing machine.

He claimed it was very bad for my racquets and when he used to use one it tended to warp them. (he demonstrated how if you laid them flat on a table they would no longer lay perfectly flat)

And he claimed he would know because he supposedly strung up to 300 racquets with the thing. (which made me think if they were so BAD why did he do so many???? )

I suspect his advice is somewhat flawed considering all the people on these boards who are using drop weights as well as the YULITTLE video's etc.....

But it just made me wonder, what might of he been doing wrong if he's just warping racquets left and right like that? (maybe he's pulling the weight down instead of just letting it drop???)

Which drop weight machine did he use?

I tend to agree with those above who say that the machine's mounting system should be what determines whether a racquet could possibly get warped during stringing and not the tensioning mechanism. Count me in the group who think your friend doesn't know what he's talking about.

 

[GPB]

Count me in the the group who think your friend doesn't know what he's talking about.

Meee toooo.

 

[onehandbh]

Perhaps he dropped the weight on the racquet...

 

[djqsrv]

Like everyone has said drop weight is just a different way to pull tension. As long as the stick is mounted properly then there should be no problems. Martina Hingis had her mother stringing her sticks on a drop weight machine when they were traveling. When a drop weight machine is used correctly it gives a very consistent result. Gravity is pretty reliable.

 

[schenkelini]

I just played doubles last night. I brought back one of my friend's freshly strung rackets. He told me afterward that he had never had a string job that felt and played so well. He usually goes to a local shop. The string job was done on a Gamma X-2. If you take care in your stringing you will never have a problem with a drop weight.