Hi guys, I was at my club last night for some training, and the owner approached me asking if I could help her with some stringing. A couple of the coaches knew I string so I wasn't very suprised. In short, she told me she wanted someone to help relieve the stringing in the club. I could take racquets home and string them so it would be pretty convenient. We haven't really talked about the money although I am not expecting big bucks out of this, I could make a little something on the side which would be nice. The main reason I want to do this is the opportunities this may open up. This is one of the biggest clubs in the city, and the owner is also the coach of the club's team and nationals. If I prove myself worthy, it is very possible I could be asked to help out with tournaments which would be a total dream for me. The second reason I'd want to do this is, this would give me a lot of practise. I'm not a fast stringer nor am I close to be being one. I'd like to be one but I have a very small amount of clients so the necessary practise isn't there. Stringing for the club would give me this, and also I'd probably get some feedback which would help me become an even better stringer. That brings us to the dilemna of my situation. I don't have the confidence. I don't know what the load of racquets I'd have to string would be but I'm slow and I'm quite a busy person trying to balance school, sports, work and a social life. Also, I have never been trained in anyway way. I learned everything I know off a couple of forums, and watching a few videos. I also got a few pointers from a fellow stringer friend of mine but that is it. If I am to string for the club, there is obviously a standard of quality I'd have to meet and I'm not sure I'm up to it. I would probably request for the club stringer to watch me string once from start to finish and give me some pointers and tweak me to their liking. This is everything I could of dreamed about when I made my investment of this machine but perhaps I've gotten there a bit too fast, I don't feel ready. What do you guys think I should do?
I say go for it and remember to take pics and share with us when you can travel with the team to different tournaments. Good luck!
I would say that you have to prioritize which one is more important seeing that you mentioned that you are busy too - works, sports, school and social life. However, if you have the time, why not? If the owner approached you, I am sure she has heard the quality work that you have done. Cheers.
Be confident in yourself. In everything that you want to do, do your best. That is always the right formula. And when you do that, this may lead to other opportunies that you don't even know. All the best and follow your heart.
I say go for it but again, like the others have said, make sure your priorities are straight. If you feel you string OK, don't worry, just do it. Ask them for any tips, suggestions and/or preferences they have and happy stringing!
if u go big time, u likely have to invest in a better machine. This will cut some time off from you slowness
Thanks for all the opinions and reassurance. You guys are right, I think I can string ok. I've done up to 29lbs of tension, which will be more than the club requires. (Before I got my own machine, they wouldn't even string 24lbs on a mint CAB30MS 2U for me) No broken racquets or unhappy customers so far, so I can't be going too wrong. Nobody is ever PERFECT for a job, but with a little help I believe I could be a good reliable stringer for the club. cooler - I think you may be right. The quality of the job is fine, it's one of the few machines where you'd get a tight stringbed like on a Babolat, but in the end, it's a drop-weight and it's a bit too slow for a business. Seeing as there aren't really any better portable solutions than mine (Laserfibre MS200 Standard), I'd probably have to invest in a new professional machine altogether. I'm afraid that would be more than I can handle. I guess I could tread water for a little while and see what kind of load I'm dealing with before I make any investments.
Kooguy mentioned implanting an Eagnas turntable onto the LaserFibre (Stringway) machine. I also thought about that. The main problem is the diameter of the fit between the Eagnas turntable and the LaserFibre base receptor. With a regular six-point support, stringing time should go down by at least 30 minutes.
I don't need 99% of perfection at 45-50 minutes to string racket. I'd rather have 95% of perfection at 25 minutes.
Hey Pete, just wondering what you thought about the Sensory Jaw. Mine doesn't have it, and I've been thinking about getting one. Do you think it helps reasonably?
The sensory jaw saves lots of hassle. You may also consider the double-action clamp system later. Maybe you can order a pair of badminton fixed clamps .
Fishmilk, Seriously, you should changing to the premium head plates. The head plate that you have will cause problems in the future. It doesn't have a cental support.
Thanks Pete, I will probably have one of those on my machine very soon since you recommend it. I haven't been keeping up, but I can tell there's some sort of inside joke on the badminton clamps. I didn't think there were any, perhaps this is why you're so frustrated with Laserfibre? I have been just thinking about it actually, when you mentioned switching to an Eagnas 6-point turntable. I thought about my options and the head plates switch you did is in my consideration. I no longer have my racquet swinging around when I pull like before, but I still don't feel like I have enough support. Thing is, last time I mentioned it to Tim, he swayed me into staying with what I have and sending me the new extra support. It doesn't sound like he's very fond of doing it, and I don't have a price figure either. It's hard to consider something when you have no idea what it's going to cost you and you're not exactly rolling in dough either.
