Hey all, Am interested in learning to string raquets, mainly for myself and my two younger brothers. I get a raquet strung every 1-2 weeks. Looking for a table-top machine, preferably a spring tension or electronic one. My budget is ~$250 CAN, if anyone has one in the Toronto area that they would like to sell that fits the criteria above, please post a reply or email: thacurtman@sympatico.ca Thanks. -Curtis
There are at least two that I've found on the net in that price range, one is a drop-weight stringer, and the other is an electronic one(<$200). My only problem is that I'd like something local. I think one of the companies was Klipper ? or something like that. -Curtis
Here is my knowledge.... $200 US can get you a Silent Partner Electronic, but it can't do badminton racquets, min tension is 25lbs...they are in Tornoto, I think it is $400 for that machine in Canada www.atssports.com can get you a pretty decent drop weight and they do ship to canada, all in all it came out to be $400 CAN, you get more than just the machine. www.eagnas.com they sell machines too, cheap, not as many freebies as ats, but still good machines. www.klipperusa.com, they sell drop weight machines, the basic machine does tennis and squash and racquet ball, you can buy a badminton weight additional or you can buy a strictly badminton drop weight stringer... www.brownssports.com, they have a couple of machines and they are located in Toronto... Hope this helps... AF
the eagnas hawk 20 with exchange and duties should be under your $250 range. the racquet clamping on the 20 looks more secure than the hawk 10 and has a better string tension mechanism. if you decide to contact them, it is adviseable to make sure they know you are ordering for badminton, since the drop weight is smaller, and they should provide badminton flying clamps. the silent partner is not calibrated for badminton racquet tensions, unless they have recently changed the motor tensioning to below 30 pounds, although the tension marked on the side appears to be average 2-3 pounds less than selected. the string clamp is very inefficient, and you will need an extra 8 inch to a foot of string at each end of the string to ensure adequate length for tensioning. although this doesn't mean anything if you are using only string packs, if you decide to use a spool, you could gain an extra couple of racquet string jobs from each spool with proper string management. if you do decide on the silent partner - make sure you either exchange the flying clamps to badminton ones, or get an extra set. usually most portable stringers come with flying clamps for tennis, and the spacing of the clamp teeth is too wide for badminton. each extra clamp costs around 30 or 40 bucks. also with any stringing machine, you will need to invest in a calibrator to ensure that you are pulling at the right tension.
