Hi all, I was thinking about buying a stringing machine. There's only 2 problems: 1. supply here in Finland isn't that good and 2. transporting one from e.g. US costs megabucks. But after some research I found the Pro's Pro Challenger I machine which looks promising, is decently priced (350 euro's) and is available in Finland. Does anybody have any experience on it? It is most likely an OEM product from China, and some other brand is using it too - unfortunately I haven't found any reviews on it anyway. All views would be highly appreciated!
Hard to judge a machine just by picture alone, of course. But, from what I can see, it looks quite good. It's got a linear gripper, racheted dropweight, 6-point---or, 10-point, depending on how you count them---supports, aluminium cast turntable, (appears to be) spring-assisted clamp bases. The clamps are tennis clamps, BTW. They look like my slim-profile Alpha ones. So, you'll probably want to exchange them for or buy extra badminton clamps. Also, some manufacturers have a different set of rod and dropweight for badminton use. You may want to inquire about that too. I can't see whether the gripper and the clamps are diamond-dusted and, if so, how well it's bonded to the metal base. IMHO, if it looks as good in person as it looks in the picture, I think you'll have yourself a machine that can outlast your badminton career. FWIW, HTH.
Thanks Quasimodo! Clamps are diamond-dusted according to the salesguy. I think this is a fairly popular machine in Europe because it is widely sold in e.g. Netherlands. BTW Since I am totally new to stringing I don't really understand the difference between tennis & badminton clamps: are tennis clamps totally unsuitable for badminton stringing, or are they just poorly fitted to badminton strings? The only badminton clamps I can find in Finland are from Victor, and cost is 28 euro's - a lot?
The problem is that the gap between the teeth in tennis clamps are too large. So, while you can certainly do the mains just fine, when it comes to the crosses, they won't fit in between the mains. The salesguy told you they don't have fixed badminton clamps? That's a bit odd. They usually do. The Euro 28 Victor clamp you mentioned sound like a flying clamp. Is that true? They'd work, of course, but I personally prefer fixed clamps especially if the machine has them. So, if the vendor truly don't have a badminton kit for their machine, I'd try to see if any other machine's clamps would fit. Get an accurate caliper and do some measurements (i.e., width and length of the clamp post). Then contact some other vendors to see if their clamps would fit. As I mentioned, the tennis clamps look like my Alpha ones. So, I'd contact them first. Try Mark Gonzalez (mark@alphatennis.com) and ask him if Alpha clamps have the same measurements as yours. You want an exact fit or the drawback after you tension off will be too much. About 1/8" is as much as you want to tolerate because that would be corrected on the next pull. Other reputable vendors to try are Gamma Sports, Mutual Power and Silent Partner amongst others. Unfortunately, I don't have their contact info. But, they're easy enough to find on Google. However, I'd first make doubly, triply, quadruply certain that they don't have badminton clamps before taking all that trouble. I find it very strange that a model that's as widely sold as that not to have them. HTH.
Thanks again. I'll try the Pro's Pro salesguy once more, maybe (probably?) he misunderstood me. Ordering from US is painfull because there's all the hassle with customs etc.
That is a OEM machine from Eagnas. http://www.eagnas.com/chaln1.html Like Quasimodo said, the tennis clamp is only good for main strings. Get two of fly clamps would be ok for the cross. http://www.eagnas.com/maxgen1/pn3050.html; http://www.hiquasports.com/badminton/clamp-fly.htm or from Yonex.
Thanks Alexccs. I've understood that the place I'm trying to buy this machine is mainly concentrated on tennis - which explains their ignorance on these issues.
I just purchased this machine . I'll share some stringing experiences after I've strung a few racquets. Thanks for the help guys!
Which badminton clamps (i assume flying clamps) did you buy? Also, which tension range u usually like to work on?
So, what clamps did you get? Do they have a special rod and weight kit for badminton? Shops around here that I know of do offer badminton kits for whatever machines they sell, even if their business is mainly tennis. They can at least special order them from the manufacturers for you. Anyhow, enjoy your new machine when it arrives. Please do share your stringing experience with us.
I didn't buy any extra clamps. I asked about this from the guy, but got no reply so I guess he didn't really know what that was all about . Anyway this is my first machine (and I haven't used anybody else's machine either), so I'll give it a go as it is without extra clamps. I'll probably have to humbly go and find some badminton flying clamps later, but I'll deal with it when that time comes . I also bought 200 m of both BG-80 and BG-65 - to my own racquets I've used to use BG-80 with 22 lbs, but now I have a chance to experiment more . I'll keep you guys posted.
Personally, I don't think that's a good idea to go w/o the proper clamps. You might get away from the main, but once u come to cross, it will give u a pain, if the tennis clamp teeth don't match. Further more, if you do a poor job on the cross, you might end up lose quite a % of tension, which bring un-even force to the racket frame. Such result means risk the racket life, as well as reduce the performance. My suggestion is to wait several more days, and get at least 2 badminton flying clamps, then start the process.
JMV, You might consider Eagnas's badminton clamps to replace the tennis clamps. However, I do not know if they will fit. http://www.eagnas.com/maxgen1/pn1013.html http://www.eagnas.com/tools.html
As I said I most likely have to do as you guys suggested - but sometimes I want to "hit my head to the wall" a bit . Anyways the Finnish championships are held next weekend, and I'll have a chance to meet several brand representatives there. Last year at least Yonex, Victor, Babolat, Fukuda and Wilson were present. I should be able to get a couple of flying clamps there - or at least order them. BTW Victor seems to have sufficient ones (picture here: http://www.victor.fi/tuotteet/jannityskoneet.html : you'll learn some finnish too ) But thanks for caring .
Since I don't know finnish, I can say which one is which. The 732 seems like a good one, if that's designed for badminton. Basically, try to avoid the "narrow" ones, as shown in 722. In general, I believe the wider the clamp (of course, badminton ones), the better the result should be, as it reduce the tension lost.
After 2 hours of huffing and puffing I finally got my first racquet strung . End result isn't very good (planned to have 20 lbs tension, but ended somewhere around 18 ), but nonetheless it was a good learning experience . I started with the above Pro's Pro machine, BG-70Pro string (10m), flat nose pliers, diagonal cutters and an old Pro Kennex racquet. Biggest reasons why it took so long were A) learning how to use the machine properly took a while, B) learning how to efficiently do the crosses took a while as well, C) an awl & flying clamps would've significantly speeded up the process and D) I accidentally snapped the string right in the end, and really had to fight to get some sort of a knot done (this affected the tension a lot too). But I'm quite sure the next time I'll get under 60 min, and the more I do the less time it takes. Actually the tennis clamps weren't that bad. I'd say that flying clamps would've made a bigger impact on the process (than fixed badminton clamps) - I have big hands, and with the big fixed tennis clamps blocking my way under the racquet I had to constantly move the base. Flying clamps could've been used on top of the machine, which would've made things much much easier. But tennis clamps are ok, they bend the mains a bit while doing the crosses but I don't think this makes a big difference. Also the awl would've helped on doing the last crosses, now I really had to fight with a few holes. For the next stringing job I'll definately buy flying clamps & awl. Let's see what kind of impact that has.
Do not use an awl!!! Use a tooth floss as an aid to get the cross string through those shared grommets.
You may want to get a hold of a tension calibrator and check whether the dropweight markings are spot on. Also, make sure the pole can move freely with as little friction as possible. Congratulations on your new machine.
Good tip, I think the dropweight markings are way off. After 5 stringing jobs I'd say there's some 2 kg (4 lbs) difference between the markings & actual result. I mean the actual result is 2 kg less than should be according to markings. Though I'm using one piece stringing technique which might explain part of the tension loss. All in all I think I'm getting a hang of the actual work - again thanks for the help guys!
Not to question about your skill, but I won't draw a conclusion just after several trials. There are many small things can greatly effect the tension: 1. Clamps. The way you described, seems to be a good source of tension lost. By "twisting" the string, you will lose tension, once it's going back to straight. Don't ignore the extra 0.5cm u created. That might equal to 5lb tension lost! 2. Knoting: Well, this is one of the major source of tension lost. 3. For drop weight, sometimes, u want to give it several sec to let the "levler" settle down. You will be surprised about the difference, as the leveler might "sink down" another 20' or so, after several seconds. This is specially true for stretchy strings (i.e. some gosen ones, BG65/85, etc)