I'm looking to invest in a new stringing machine, but I'm not sure what's good. From what I've been seeing, drop weight stringing machines deliver better consistency in tension than cranks. After looking around, I've decided a 6 point mounting system with a drop-weight stringing machine would be a good starter machine. My budget is around $400USD, but I'm hoping to get one for much cheaper of course. Any recommendations for a 6pt drop-weight Stringing Machine? I've looked at the Gamma Progression II 602 Stringing machine (http://www.tennis-warehouse.com/descpageACGAMMA-602.html), but I'm not sure if it can do badminton rackets. Has anyone had any experience with this machine? I've also looked at Alpha, but I'm not sure if they are badminton suitable as well. Also I'm wondering if there are any Drop-weight machines that are good for modification later on, such as adding an electronic tension head. (for much much later on if I do decide to do it) As for my experience with stringing, I've started stringing the last few months with my friend's Yonex ST200. The crank system is nice, but the calibration seems to be off (about 2-3lbs), so I was hoping to get something that is accurate and consistent.
yes, it can be used for badminton, but you have to change the mounting pad (it is included by default). and for the modification : http://www.photostringer.com/wise.htm also can buy the bracket from the seller. there is also alternative modification from Gamma to add Gamma electronic tension head.
So the mounting pad for badminton is included by default? Or do I have to purchase it somewhere else? Are there any particular 6pt mount drop weight machines that you would recommend other than gamma?
it had better you contact Gamma first ...... it is called MMSSA, also you should ask whether including MFSPP and MMSPP
Unless you consistently working beyond 25+ lbs, I do not see the clear advantage for a 6 point machine over a 2 point machine. Well built 2 point machince can be easily found with in US$200 range or even lower.
Yeah, for a budget on the low side, a cheap dropweight (2 or 6 points, depending on the OPs preferred tension) is probably the way to go. Very accurate, easy enough to use, relatively small and light. Personally, I'd go for one with 6 point supports as there's more of a safety net. For a cheap machine, two point is fine though. I think Grandmaster LB was thinking more about Klippermates or a cheap Eagnas, not a high end professional machine lol. It's a very nice one though, it has to be said. If you want the cheapest, most basic solution possible, there is the Eagnas Hawk 10. At $95, it's ludicrously cheap and there isn't really much to go wrong with it (may be a good thing with Eagnas). Gamma do the X-2. There's also the Klippermate. Higher up the scale is the Eagnas ST-250 or if you were feeling brave, there is the option of the Eagnas electronic Hawk series.
i think im the first to mension this but have you looked at second hand would be much cheaper. and age doesnt really effect how it works. i have a machine thats twice my age, two point, the highest iv went to is 28 and i dont wanna go higher cus i dont use higher, but it did 28 no problems. and it was well cheap. just my 2 cents
Funny you mention that because my friend who is thinking of upgrading to another stringing machine has offered me his 3 year-old Gamma X-6 Stringing machine for $300USD. He's been starting to string our college team rackets and drop-weights are too slow for him. He's letting me test out his machine to decide if I like it. I'll decide after stringing one or two more rackets, but I'll most likely take his offer. Thanks for the all the input everyone, it's been quite helpful.
it cant be slower than my machine, takes me an hour and a quarter, when i say its old i really mean old, if i got flying clamps i could easily cut 20-30 mins off that time. i find it relaxing so dont usually rush anyway. hope you like it, do bear in mind if u havnt strung very much it will be longer when i started it took nearly 2 hours
On top of what LB said, how long does it take him to string up a racquet? A good string person will take about 30~45min for a detail job with any kind of machine from a blank frame to finish. Also, $300 for a 3 year old used X-6? You can get a new one with freebies for $360. I would say $250-$260 is a fair price.
is that so i challenge you to do 45mins with my machine when doing the crosses bars go through the holes and the clamp thingys push off them
Kinda agree, but may extend the time to 35 mintues instead. If I am really concentrate, I can finish a racket with 2 point drop weight with 37 minutes (fastest, normal average is around 45-55 minutes depend on the racket type). Of course, a proper crank machine can shorten the time by 10-15 minutes, but I seriously doubt it's a big deal, if a person average no more than 2-3 rackets per day...
Wow!!! I thought I have seen enough of machine already. WOW! Anyway, My assumption is the stringing person will have proper tools of his/her preference such as fly clamps, dental floss and other misc tools. But I have to say, I am sorry for making mistake on assuming everyone has a more modern stringer.
Yes agree, I still have a M140 for stringing in the field. I usually take 40 min from blank to finish. So I just assume 30~45 min is a good guess. I will say 35 min for a drop weight is usually a best case time... My personal best was 33 min on my drop weight. I only did 1 re-pull on that one...
@Lazybuddy~ His rackets per day fluctuates, but per month basis, he might string around 15 to 25 rackets. (it's a very conservative estimate) His average time is around 45 min, but I'm not sure what his fastest time is. He's using hi-qua clamps at the moment. He's starting to try out my apartmentmate's yonex clamps, but I don't know if that's made his stringing time any lower. @silentheart~ He's a good friend of mine, and he's done me quite a few favors before, so I feel bad for asking him to lower the price, lol. I was thinking of asking for 290, but I felt guilty for even thinking of asking. Plus he's including all of the freebies he got when he bought it. @noppy~ lol, that's a very old machine. The top and bottom holes must be a pain. The first time I tried it with a drop-weight, it took me around 2.5 hours. (It took me around 1-1.5 hours to do it on a crank;There were two problems that arose that slowed me down considerably: -The 1 of the mounting pads on the sides was blocking the hole, so it made it a pain to thread through it. On top of that, I was doing the crosses, plus the lighting in my room was sort of dark, and my racket was black for the most part (Cab 30MS), so it made it very painful to even try to thread the string through. It took nearly 20-30 min to thread that one through. -The final pull on the mains was troublesome for me as well. My first experience with stringing rackets was with cranks and the String gripper was fairly close to the racket. But with the drop-weight, there was a fair distance between the racket and string gripper. I barely had enough string to finish the job. I had to experiment with different rotation positions of the string gripper in order to pull the final string on the mains (don't remember which side, but both sides had even amounts of string left over) ----------------------- And lastly, I'm thinking of getting a 6 point machine mainly because I'm starting to use higher tension (25-27lbs for now; possibly higher but not likely). The reason for higher tension is mainly because I strung two rackets at a higher tension than my usual (24lbs) and I liked the control and sharpness of the drives I got and I could use more of my power and still retain control. So I'd thought it'd be a safer option to get a 6pt machine anyways.
That machine is a beast, Gav. It looks kinda like a torture device (although I'm sure you don't torture rackets with it).
haha yes it is a beast, and its very accurate tension wise and yes top and bottom holes are a pain but do able. i string most of my rackets between 22-28lbs easily i did say it was tiwce my age 35 years plus but saying its old and all that really doesnt make a difference cus its exactly the same system as the new machine EXCEPT i dont have flying clamps YET, then that stupid silver cross bar can go and it cost £40 with 100m of Ashaway Micropower who could say no, it was the equivalent to 4 restrings price
It has what seems to be very awesome head and throat supports . My speculation is that adding a cross bar will greatly enhance the upper limit of tension like 35 lbs .
