Custom-Made Stringing Machine Parts

[kwun]

wow. you have a milling machine and a lathe at home? if i have those, the possibilities will be endless!

[johnlowe88]

One more comment that I would make. Originally I bought the lathe and mill - and thought that it would be big enough. On hindsight, I should actually have bought a larger lathe and a larger mill. Maybe I will think about upgrading it sometime - if I get enough projects to do. The lathe is good enough for small items, but when turning stainless steel - just has too much flex, so needed some upgrading to fix this. The mill is small enough and will do a good job - but a bigger more powerful mill would be easier to use. I have been learning a lot about this, and had issues with slipping collets just cutting the slots in the nylon - so need to buy the right size collets, another expense - but will delay this until I really need to.

[johnlowe88]

wow. you have a milling machine and a lathe at home? if i have those, the possibilities will be endless!

Actually, that is the basic equipment. I thought I could make almost anything, but found that getting the tooling, and working holding equipment like machine vice, dividing head still leaves me wanting more. Those things including tools have already cost more than the lathe and mill together.

[CovinaStringer]

Just think if he had a CNC machine.

[johnlowe88]

Just think if he had a CNC machine.

Working on it. Trouble is my mill has a lot of backlash - to fix this, I will need to disassemble it, clean and fix it - I don't yet have the skills to do this, so am taking it slowly. Then I need to buy some ballscrews from the US and then convert the mill to CNC - I have some motors already and motor drivers.

If I was living in the US, this would be a much easier task - as much of what I need is readily available and cheaper - but here down-under, we pay extra for freight, extra for tax, extra for... Ok - rambling a little, but you get the idea? I am thinking maybe I should sell this mill, get a bigger one and then convert that one to CNC - then making these custom racquet supports would be much easier - I could take a video of it doing the job.

[kwun]

Actually, that is the basic equipment. I thought I could make almost anything, but found that getting the tooling, and working holding equipment like machine vice, dividing head still leaves me wanting more. Those things including tools have already cost more than the lathe and mill together.

i have kinda looked into lathe and milling machine. went through some sites and that seems to be the general comment. the vice, bits, collets themselves will cost as much if not more than the machine.

[CovinaStringer]

I have access to a Haas VF1 at a friend's shop, as well as a lathe and milling machine. What I would love to have access to is a water jet like a Flow. I could be making my own stringing machine parts left and right. Anything can be made if you have the design and money.

[kwun]

I have access to a Haas VF1 at a friend's shop, as well as a lathe and milling machine. What I would love to have access to is a water jet like a Flow. I could be making my own stringing machine parts left and right. Anything can be made if you have the design and money.

i need to make better friends.

[KooGuy]

Choping board material...

I just know my local woodworking shop has similar material and come with various thickness and sizes.

I think they can be easily cut and shaped for custom 'k' shape side support like these for this web site,

http://www.aefsports.com/en/products...gclassCode=108

[kwun]

in general i am pretty happy with my WASE. the biggest issue i have with it is how the side support are designed:



the bottom part of the side support as well as the arm protrude into the vertical space of the frame, resulting in obstruction of both access by fingers as well as flying clamps.

so i need some better designed side supports.

there have been many very nice DIY designs already in this thread. i think i am going to give it a go as well.

without fancy machining equipment at home i simply cannot afford to have a complete metal solution like ones above.

i need to approach the solution differently.

what i have brainstormed so far is this.

i need a solid support. hundreds of pounds of force is acting on the support. this can be done with a bolt+nut that attaches to the swing arm. the bolt will stand vertically and solidly attached to the swing arm via the bolt. the actual piece that contacts the racket can be of different material and will sit between the racket and the bolt. the force that acts on this piece will be mainly compression, which many material is pretty strong.

this is inspired by johnlowe88's design above, he has a metal bolt that screws directly into the nylon.

so what material? maybe nylon again? or maybe something more exotic like wood?

the other issue is the support/racket interface, a channel is needed to support the racket in a V-like shape. that needs to be machine, and that's why the material cannot be metal as i don't have the proper tool to machine it.

i am still brainstorming.

[kwun]

food for thoughts:

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...product-review

[_Rav_]

The Pro's Pro shuttle express side supports are a little better in that regard i think, but they are a little too fat so the string pulls against them on a couple of crosses...

[DinkAlot]

there have been many very nice DIY designs already in this thread. i think i am going to give it a go as well.

With some tweaking, Michal Chudek's custom made supports are near ideal.
They are significantly better than the SPT badminton supports (discontinued) which are very good with a little modification.

Will post some pictures and detailed info tonight or early tomorrow.

[CovinaStringer]

food for thoughts:

http://www.badmintoncentral.com/foru...product-review

Eagnas W or V supports.

[DinkAlot]

Comment: all these supports, custom or even OEM need better cushioning.

Stringing at higher tension, it's ideal to have some cushioning to:

1) help relieve stress off the pressured parts of the frame when tensioning
2) help grip the racket and hold it firmly in place so it does minimal sliding
3) help minimize racket frame surface damage

Cutting pieces off of tacky replacement or overgrips is good for a temporary solution but this solution only works for a few rackets before you have to replace.

The best solution this Panda has found:
Watts Clear Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Model # SVHF20
(Basically soda dispensing clear tubing)

Click HERE for more details and to purchase.
It's about 20' long for $6.00; you only need about 8" to 16" total, depending on your supports.

The trick is how affix them on your supports to make them non-obtrusive.

Images of Panda's set-up tonight.


-------------------------------------------
Panda's original posted in another thread:

Done "modifying" the Chudek supports but need to string about 10 more rackets to give a complete review.

Initial thoughts: the Chudek supports are definitely well-made, strong and easy-to-access the string.

The only improvement (at least for this Panda) needed is the yellow shrink tubing for cushioning is a bit too hard and slippery (again for this Panda). It's no harder than the expensive stringing machine PU mounts but Panda wants the ultimate in racket frame protection: a bit more cushioning and more grip to hold the racket in place better so there's no movement.

Panda went to Home Depot and found the ideal cushioning: Watts Clear Poly Vinyl Chloride (PVC), Model # SVHF20, 7/16" outer diameter, 5/16" inner diameter x 20' = ~$6.00! (In the U.S.)

The tubing fits perfectly into the supports. Will take pictures and do a more detailed write-up in a few days.

More info here: http://www.homedepot.com/h_d1/N-5yc1...1&ddkey=Search

[johnlowe88]

Although I haven't yet tried stringing a racquet with my new nylon supports - I did tighten them up, and the racquet frame does not move readily. With my previous rubber coated aluminium supports, I found that the rubber would hold the racquet quite firmly without having to tighten up as much.

So the consensus is that the support must be firm and handle the high forces involved. The support must not block too many grommets, or ideally be able to fit between grommets. The contact to the frame should have some cushioning and prevent sliding. The contact area should be large enough not to place all the force on a small part of the frame. This part, I have already worked out as I cut 5mm radius top and bottom to match the racquet frame curvature. But if I then need to add some cushioning, I would increase the radius to 6mm radius - which is what I used with the aluminium supports that had the rubber coating.

I was thinking of an aluminium frame with a slide-in nylon support with rubber tips. The aluminium frame would give most of the bulk strength, with the nylon providing some elasticity and the rubber tip providing the cushioning. Sounds ideal?

One more - the overhang of the support should not intrude into the string area - that is what I did with the nylon support.

[kwun]

well, after some thoughts. here is the solution i have come up with that work and proven strong. here is my current support:



- take away the yellow and black padding pieces.
- cut a piece of nylon that fits in the current V shape of the support.
- that nylon piece will be longer and extends beyond the edge of the support
- drilled a hole through the base of the metal support and screws tight the new nylon piece

then i have nicely existing, well formed, strong metal support, and then an nylon extension that protrude out give clearance.