Honestly I use exclusively fixed clamps now...hardly ever go to my flying clamp these days, unless i go over 30lbs on a racket. Though slower but I think it clamps much better than flying clamps.
the main part of my understanding is how to work the fixed clamp that make them nearly as fast as flying clamps. so far, i find that with fixed clamps, it requires reaching under the racket to get to them, and the key issue is from where i reach under as there are other things like the posts and the other clamp blocking the access. also the other part is how to disengage and re-engage them. this one i find that we need two hands. quickly dis-engage base and clamp, and then re-engage clamp and base. 2 hands seems to be the key for speed and i just need to put that action in muscle memory by practicing more.
This is where the Yonex (and Babolat) clamps shine. The stems are female, so you can move the whole clamp by holding the stem, and they open automatically if dropped on the base to release the button. Shame they cost more than most decent machines. I've toyed with trying to work the standard clamps with one hand, but since I got the WISE the need has diminshed; I can move my hands to the "ready" position while the tension is being pulled (there's a good three seconds there).
i haven't played with the Victor/Exthree/Porex base clamps for a while now. i wonder if they are any better than Gamma. no. i am not thinking about mods one week after i get the machine. really... there is just no comparison to the Yonex/Toyo clamps/bases. their action is super light weight, smooth as butter and holds like a rock. i guess one gets what you paid for. gonna go visit AK and will be hesitant to play with the ES5Pro/tech again. it will be tough to have just bought a Porsche only to then sit in a Ferrari. but i am sure the temptation will be hard to resist.
Okay my badminton support mount came and I love it. It fits perfectly with the racket and the height, to the point I decided to get another one for the 6' position as well just because it will be lower and easier to work with and to clamp and so on for my Gamma 5003 machine. Also, I am in the process of cutting out some aluminum and making up my own mount for the 5003 due to the height issue of the Gamma clamp on the wise as discussed here. What I am doing is I will be machining out my own piece of mount that will lower be about 1 inch lower than the current Gamma mount so that way the racket shoudl pass under the machine to give me 360 or so.
man i am like a hair away from upgrading mine and all your juicy pic is so going to get me in trouble with the wife lol
Kwun so now with your new machine with 6 points mount like your old machine do you do the 10% rule on the cross or you dont? I think i am going to take the base design of the Gamma side clamp and i might design something similar but lower...cuz right now as it stand its so high, so hard to work on my 5003 and i am sure you are facing the same issue on your 6004
for my old machine i experimented with 10% and that didn't feel good. but with the new one, i haven't done the experiment and i need to do that. things will feel differently on different mounting system as well as different clamping system. so more experiment is in order. yes. i am also looking at something like that. the idea now is to sculpt it and then mold it with urethane plastic. it will be custom shaped to be perfect for badminton. i have some drafts for the shape and i am going to sculpt it this weekend. i have already ordered the plastic resin so it will be molding time this couple of weeks. do you have access to a mill?
Yeah I have a mill thats why I think i will just take the base clamp and just come up with something. Mainly I will just design it similar to the setup but just cut off like about an inch and that should be good for me. Maybe something that isnt as wide of a mount too....like something similar to the Yonex ESP5 or so. This will be a long project as i dont have much time for these sort of things but it will be done lol