Questions about a stringing machine

[Anonymous]

Ok, im new to stringing rackets and am looking for a machine for my personal use. I am an advanced player, so i am looking for a machine that can do a quality stringing job. Others have recommended a machine with fixed clamps in order to do a good job, but many of these fixed clamp machines seem to be very expensive. Then I found this Eagnas Flex 740 machine on Eagnas's website. It seems to be unusually low priced compared to similar gamma or alpha models, so i am wondering if this is a low quality machine. If its a good machine, it seems like it would be a no-brainer to grab this thing, so let me know what you guys think. (Below are the specs). I am also looking at the ATS Super Stringer II, and am wondering if anyone has any experience with that particular machine(seems to be a good deal)



Model Number: Flex 740 $329.00 only $229.00. (Click on picture or model number to view larger image.)


Six-point, suspension mounting system provides 10-point maximum supports and eliminates any racquet distortion.
Micro-adjustable head and throat mounting posts
4 individually adjustable side-support arms (heavy-duty)
Padded K-shaped side supports
Padded head and throat mounting posts secure any frame (including deep V-shaped throats), no cosmetic damage to any frame.
All-metal Linear ball bearing string gripper grips the string automatically. There is no string pull or muscle to use. Also no crimp or damage to any string. See operating procedures.
Stainless steel ratchet (spring clutch) string gripper makes stringing much easier and faster without need to clamp and repull. See operating procedures.
10-90 pound tension range, kilogram scale available
2 drop weights for constant pull tensioning
2 diamond-coated, thumb-adjustable stainless steel swivel clamps (PN-1002). Stringing has never been as easy and efficient as it is now with the Eagnas thumb-adjustable clamp.
All-metal ConeLock swivel clamp bases:
provide smooth operation.
360 degree racquet rotation with brake
Metal machine base with level-adjustable pads
User's manual
Free illustrated stringing tutorial guide: show you how to string racquets step by step
Tools: 1 6mm T-shaped Allen wrench, 1 3mm Allen wrench, 1 2.5mm Allen wrench
String all racquets: tennis, oversized tennis, widebodies, longbodies, fan patterned, squash, racquetball, and badminton.
Handle any diagonal stringing (fan patterned frames)
5 years warranty

[Phil]

I recently purchased a Hawk 80 (which looks almost identical). My experience so far is:
1. It takes quite a long time to get the hang of tensioning with a drop weight (I still haven't) - there's a real knack to it - if stringing quickly is important to you I would consider paying slightly more and going for a spring / crank type machine.
2. My Hawk 80 tension gauge was WAY OFF - 7-9lbs more tension than I set on the scale. I'm awaiting an explanation from Maxline. I suggest you buy a tension callibrator just in case.
3. My Hawk 80 didn't include a tennis awl - an essential piece of kit

Let me know if you want to know more

Phil

[knoc]

well, i just recieved my flex 740 and it seems to have the same tension problem as yours. mine seems to be at least 10 lbs over what the gauge on the machine says according to the calibrator I bought from eagnas. I don't know if i sure pursue maxline because of this problem, or if i should just live with it because other than that the machine seems pretty decent... especially considering it only cost $230 for a machine with swivel clamps and 6 point mounting

[bbrady42]

My 740 (got it last month) is also about 5lbs over. I could live with that, but it's inconsistant as well. There is some kind of friction that causes the arm to stick at the very end when pulling tension. It doesn't "bobble" like other dropweights I've used.

This friction causes the tension to vary by 3-8 lbs every pull. That I can't live with.

I've contacted Maxline about it, but so far Victor does not seem to think this is the serious problem that I do.

Do your dropweights have this friction, or do their tension arm still move pretty freely, even under tension?

[Phil]

My machine doesn't seem to stick - I wonder if the quality of manufacturing is just so haphazard that the hole that the mounted arm pivots on is not smooth (or the right size) and that when the tension is applied it levers it out of true slightly. Mine doesn't seem afflicted in the same way.

I have also encountered Maxline's awful customer service however. I received no reply to three emails regarding the inaccuracy of my machine and when I eventually forced a reply from the illusive Victor it was in no way helpful or supportive.

If a unified campaign would help your cause in any way - count me in. How the hell someone can make a drop weight machine as far out as mine is is completely beyond me!

Phil

[bbrady42]

Actually, Victor has alway been pretty good at answering my e-mails within a day or so. His answers haven't always been particularly helpful, but he's answered.

After a few sugestions like loosening the nut on the back (and getting an Eagnas calibrator, because only can Eagnas calibrator can calibrate and Eagnas stringer) he finally answered back and said that I should just continue to lower the arm very slowly. Can you believe that?

Of course I told him that was not acceptable and asked for an RMA so I could send it back, and much to my surprise, he didn't give me a hassle about returning it. I suspect that the 740 is popular enough right now that they will just turn it right around and sell it to someone else.

[rally punx]

I was also looking at the Flex 740 and the Hawk 80. In eagnas website, the Flex 740 is listed for $279 and the Hawk 80 for $289. Where did you buy yours for $229?? Anybody has had any good experience with any of these machines??

[Canadaman]

I recently purchased an Eagnas machine although one of the cheaper ones. I had the same problem of the drop weight arm rubbing and causing friction. How can you trust the tension when this happens? I recommend staying away from Eagnas. I've read too much negative stuff.

[tennistoad]

It might not be the best but I just got an e-stringer with the 6point mounting for $279 and it seems to work really well. I haven't been able to calibrate it yet but the tensions feel the same as what I was getting from my local usra stringer. I use a 5.2hyperhammer pro-blend at 57lbs. Plus it's electric and I can't complain yet.

[Campus Stringers]

10lbs does sound like some serious miscalibration. However, some amount of random error (up to 3 or 5lbs) is to be expected with any machine that is not a true tension pull. Regardless of what the adds may say, the only machines that do give anywhere close to true tension are the expensive machines that you will see tour stringers (and some finer tennis shops) use.

A lot of people that string get very nervous when they first get their calibrators and random error becomes apparent for the first time. If the variation you are getting covers a 6lbs range (3 more or 3 less than what you were aiming for), that is actually about average for low-cost personal stringers. It is also only a little higher than the range of variation that many mid-quality pro-shop stringers will have (although pro-shops will want to argue with this point there is no way to argue with the physics that suggest this is actually what their machines do).

A final comment is that with a drop weight stringer, the type of string you use will strongly influence the tension you get out of the machine. With certain types of string, it may not be unusual to be reliably 10 lbs off true tension. In this case, the best solution is to correct for the difference and string at that tension.

The point is, most of us have been playing all our lives with string jobs that in reality are within an acceptable range of what we think they are.

Campus Stringers