View Full Version : Is this a decent machine and is it worth it?
http://www.sptennis.com/stringer.asp#eStringer
My question is twofold. Is the 6 clamp version of that machine decent, and how many times a year do you think I need to be restringing in order to consider stringing my own racquets? Right now it looks like I only restring twice through the entire season, and each restringing costs me 19 dollars in labor charges. I only know of 2 other people who I would be stringing racquets for and they can usually get away with restringing once a season (i pay for their stringings so they wouldn't be paying me to string). That comes to 76 bucks in restringing costs a year. I think right now it's best I just pay to get my racquet restrung because it would take me about 4 years to make the machine pay for itself. Anyone agree/disagree?
Paladyr,
Good question, very pertinent and well worth trying to give a good answer.
1.) the SP is a good machine, the 6 point sydtem is much better than the 2 point, well worth the extra cost, the electric motor works well and you can certainly do a good string job on this machine, as long as you learn to string correctly. The value for money is excellent.
2.) there are 3 base categories of stringers :
- Stringers who earn their living by stringing (professionals),
- Players who string to save money (and eventually make a little on the side),
- Players who want to look after their own material (racquets, strings and grips), who string for the pleasure of being able to "fine tune" their racquets to their own needs, without depending on a stringer.
Each of these categories have their place and I respect the home stringer as much as a TOUR Pro Stringer. Like everything else it is better to know where you are situated and react accordingly.
Fortunately the economies of doing your own string jobs is not the only motivation to buy a machine, if it is then your calculation speaks for itself, it is simply not worth it.
My first reaction is that you don't change your strings often enough, one of the biggest advantages of stringing your own racquets is that the cost of re-stringing is very low (just the cost of the string, plus your time), so try playing with thinner and better strings and change them at least once a month so that you get the very best out of them. Try different tensions, experiment on your capacities to improve your game.
The string is 80% of the efficiency of your racquet, don't under-estimate to what point you can influence your whole game by trying to optimise the quality and tensions of your strings to your own personal requirements.
If you can do this and succeed, you will never ask yourself whether it is worth the money to buy a personal stringing machine.
I compare such an acquirement to having your own bike : it isn't neither as fast nor as comfortable as a car, and you have to do all the pedalling youself. It costs a lot and the relative cost/km. is rediculously high due to the low number of kms. actually covered every month, but hey man when you really feel like going for a ride, when you get back tired and sweating, and very self-satisfied, who gives a shit that your bike cost you $500 and that you only use it once a month, its worth every cent you spent on it, and if you look after it well it will last you a lifetime.
Owning a stringing machine is the key to independence for your tennis, every passionate player should be able to string his own racquets when he feels like it. The rest of the time he should give his racquets to be re-strung by the best professional stringer that he can find, and pay the right price for a top quality string job.
Hey Joe, any comments from your side on this one ??
Hawkeye2
2004-07-14, 10:26
@Paladyr
Just like Jay Cee said you seem to change your strings infrequent.
You should at least change your strings as often per year as you play per month...
So 4 times per month, 4 restrings in a year.
And this is already a very long time for a string to be played with...
In my case strings last for about 3 hours and I play about 6-8 hours per week. Ok, I'm using a very thin string (1.22) but I benefit from a better feeling, more Power and more Spin compared to a thicker string (i.e. 1.35). Not to mention the tension loss when playing a year with one string...
So maybe you should think about it.
Im my experience you can't save that much money when stringing by yourself because you start to string more often than ever (testing strings, tensions etc.).
But you will enjoy your tennis even more and that should be worth it !
Bye
@Paladyr
My first reaction to your post was like this: If you are going to keep restringing your racquet so rarely (also your friends), the machine will definitely not pay off. But if you are motivated to try some different strings and tensions, and re-string your racquet more frequently, then go for it, you will not regret it. You will have a high chance of improving your game (and also your health!) by stringing your own racquets. If you additionally acquire a few more customers, the machine will even pay off economically much faster.
Double-fault
2004-07-14, 13:09
Hello
I bought me a Klippermate few months back, because unhappy with the local stringer, cost me $18 for the labor, and 3 days wait, when I got the racket back, I requested 60lbs, but the racket felt like 45lbs, Anyway, since I got the Klippermate, I’m very please, restring my racket anytime I like, I messed up, don’t like the string tension, just redo.
So far, I restring my own racket about 5-6 times, restring 8 rackets for friends, I think I got the money worth for the string machine, would like to step up to a little better one, but I have not justified yet.(no fund for the one I want about $600).
I have learn a lot about stringing, string, racket. (thanks Stringforum.net)
Thanks for reading my .02 cents and sorry for my bad English.
:D
Hey Double-fault,
That is a super posting, worth far more than $0,02, it comes straight from the heart, my English is not that good either, but I do my best, just like you.
What you have said and experienced is great, as long as you keep going in this direction you are going to become a good stringer, you won't even need the plastic bags like Jaypro.
Don't rush into buying a new machine, but when you do, buy a good one. Jaypro certainly made a good choice here, even if it is quite expensive, it is certainly worth the investment.
Have a look at the Stringway machines, sold in the States through LASERFIBRE. Really excellent stringing machines, their drop weight ML100 is by far the best drop weight in the world and it is in your budget range. I know you can buy an electric machine for that price but it would be no where near the technical quality and precision of the Stringway.
Thanks for all the replies!
If you check out my post in the string section, you'll see I'm starting to question the job my current stringer is doing as he marked the racquet was strung at 63/63 when I requested 63/67. He assured me he strung it at 63/67 and just marked it incorrectly, but how can I know. That kinda makes me want to do my own stringing.
I also think it is important to note that I don't play tennis year round. I only play when it's warm out so that's about 5 months or so out of the year. I probably should restring more often, but I'm usually too cheap to do so knowing it will cost me 19 bucks in labor :-P.
One last question, if I do get a stringing machine, should I also buy one of those devices that tell you what the tension of your strings are? From everything I read it looks like I should. Thanks!
Double-fault
2004-07-14, 15:43
Thanks JC :-)
Laserfibre is the one I have in mind, but for now, I will stick with the Klippermat, still took me little over an hour to string one racket, I take time to stringing job, turn on the TV or music, I’m in my little world of stringing,:D
So if you make a commitments to play tennis, for the love of the game or for your health, in a long run, even for 10 years, your stringing machine will pay off by then, but evertime I finished with the stringing job, the feeling of satisfaction are great. (Can’t blame anyone for a bad stringing job anymore).
I’m so hook of stringing, I hope I break the string more often.
Anyone need a string job, send me the racket, string and return posted, I will be happy to string your racket for free.
:D
The difference between Ordinary and Extraordinary is that little Extra.
Mongolmike
2004-07-14, 21:32
I am a "home" stringer... I only string for myself, and in fact, have said no to some friends because I don't want to be responsible for their racquet if something goes a miss.
The reason I got a stringer is twofold: first, the local stringer took too long. The second and larger reason, it is much cheaper to try all sorts of different strings and different tensions when you do it yourself. I can get 3 sets of strings and do it myself for the price of one pro string job.
I keep a log of what type string I tried, how difficult was it to string, and then how did it play: spin, power, comfort, durability. This way, even tho the stringer recommended or "pushed" certain strings (mostly Wilson stuff), I can experiment myself and find out what I really like. With all the hundreds of strings out there, it could be pretty expensive to try something new, and find you don't like it, or realize you liked something better, if you don't string yourself.
The rule of thumb I heard is, however many hours a week you play, that is how many times a year you should restring. I play 8-10 hrs a week, so this gives me plenty of opportunities (8-10 restringings) to try a different string every few weeks, or try the same string with a different tension.
One side benefit of stringing your own, is that you get a pretty initmate inspection of your racquet on a regular basis. It's not just a once-over look, you notice every grommet, every scratch on the frame, and while you're at it you might decide to change the grip, add weight, etc.
The investment for a low-end drop weight stringer isn't that much... so I don't think of it as "how soon will I recoup my investment"... probably because now that I can string my own, I do re-string more often than I normally would have... and this helps my game. I love playing with new strings, and I love trying different strings.
Double-fault
2004-07-14, 22:38
Well Said Mongolmike.
;)
:)
Amen to that Double-fault.
Congrats MongolMike, great stuff, you're maybe not as mongol as you lead us to believe, try to work out a deal with Jaypro for a name exchange. He's also looking for some plastic bags, this could lead to some mega-bucks business, keep us posted!!
Your postin's good stuff mate, stringin' sticks ain't so bad when you see it all from your side, thanks again.
how many times are you going to hammer me on the plastic bag issue jayCee?? I thought it was dead. haha
Jaypro,
You're kidding me, it's alive and well, we will still be on about the plastic bags for a long time to come. :confused:
You're not going to get off as easy as that. :D
Double-fault
2004-07-18, 00:20
Jaypro
You may add the plastic bags on your Xmas wish list.
Don't look like Jay Cee let you off the hook easy.
:D
No it doesnt does it Double fault? I guess i can see it from his perspective though. i guess he's earned the right to harrass a newcomer to the world of stringing like me. 1 day i'll be an arrogant professional stringer with a huge following (and not to mention ego) like JayCee and put down newbies like me. God i admire him.
ps, i already bought the plastic bags! haha
Double-fault
2004-07-18, 04:22
psssssssssssssss Jaypro
You can sent some this way, i won't tell
:D
and whats in it for me? are you anywhere near Houston by any chance?
Double-fault
2004-07-18, 04:52
Jaypro
I'm about 5 hrs drive north of Houston (just east of Dallas)
Thank you though, Just kidding, but kinda cool to open a plastic bag everytime i head to the court though.
Again, Thank you
:D
If you ever head to this way, drop me a note, we can go hit a few balls.
You may teach me a few lesson (start to play tennis last summer).
At my age, all my musle tell me a lot a thing when finished play (ouch... ouch)
:D
I might take you up on that offer 1 day. I might be in Houston in the next few months for a job interview with a tennis management company (PBI) based in Houston. I'll even bring a few plastic bags for shits and giggles :)
Hey guys,
you two are really hitting it off together, it sounds like Double-fault is as good at playing tennis as Jaypro is at stringing. You should be able to help each other. Good thinking Batman. :D
Thanks for the compliments Jaypro, you would have be a confirmed beer drinker for me to return it, nothing else really matters. :cool:
PS. Good luck for the Houston trip, don't show him the plastic bags until you get the job, if you impress him too much to soon he may be frightened to take you on board, he could be worried that you are so ambitious that he could risk his own job before the year is over. :)
Keep in the shade Jaypro, and don't let them see how smart you really are and you will go a long way. :cool:
David Pavlich
2004-12-22, 03:57
Where do you people live that has such poor stringing? I guarantee 24 hour turn around. No labor charge if I fail (never have, by the way). I even had a day that I had 26 frames come in and got all of them done withing 24 hours.
Now I know tournament stringers do 30 or 35 a day BUT...they aren't also waiting on people in a shop, answering the phone and so on. It's a wonder any of these places you mentioned keep stringing customers.
David
David,
I'm not sure that I understand your posting here. Most of this subject has been making some jokes about "novices" pretending to be "pro stringers". :D
It's just for fun, most of the stringers on this forum string for themselves and some friends, none of the posters to whom I have answered questions pretend to be professional stringers, JayPro has an Ektalon Neos which is already considered by a lot of the stringers here as a "dream machine". :cool:
To most of us to string more than a couple of racquets a day is an achievement. They are not necessarily looking for anything more than some sound advice so that the quality of their stringing is improved enough so that they can feel the difference and find satisfaction in the relative improvements. ;)
There a many so called professional stringers that don't string as well as some players expect them to string, and some of these players prefer to try to do it themselves, I tend to encourage this, but try at all times to insist on the value of a really good stringer if you can find one. :)
So it is interesting to see what a real Pro Stringer can do in a day, but it's not really comparable to the small number of racquets strung by the majority of our "novice" stringers. :o
David Pavlich
2004-12-22, 23:26
Jay Cee: I was responding to the following excerpts from a couple of posts on this thread:
__________________________________________________ _________
Double fault said:
bought me a Klippermate few months back, because unhappy with the local stringer, cost me $18 for the labor, and 3 days wait, when I got the racket back, I requested 60lbs, but the racket felt like 45lbs,
Mongolmike said:
The reason I got a stringer is twofold: first, the local stringer took too long.
__________________________________________________ __________
These are the reasons for my post. It has nothing to do with the guys that are posting other than the fact that the stringers that they were trusting there frames to were not very service oriented when it comes to their service.
I wanted to point out that a good stringer that cares about his or her customers will do the very best string job and do it in a timely manner and that a good stringer will do yeoman's work to provide that service for the customer.
I certainly don't do that kind of volume everyday. I average 150 or so frames a month. Once in a while, though, I have to use that 3rd or 4th extra gear to ensure that my customers are happy with my service.
So...no slam to my fellow posters. As a matter of fact, if I do anything here, I hope it's an influence on future stringing-as-a-business posters to do the very best that they can for the players that trust them to keep their favorite frame(s) in top condition. I just find it difficult to believe that people have a business that depends on service don't provide good service.
David
I couldn't agree more. :)
Recently I read a posting on GSS of a real success story for a real pro stringer, I am just so impressed by this guy I will give you an extract from his self infilicted confession :
quote :
Sure, my own personal "story" seems rather "cool", (and still does to me...) going from a kid wondering how to get his T-2000 "fixed", to owning a (very) small shop in North Dakota, stringing for Babolat at every d**n event imaginable, then stringing over 10,000 frames a year for 5-years at Bollettierie's, then going to Wilson to design frames, finding that "corporate" life was not me...so head back on the tour traveling exclusively with Sampras for a year, hear myself say; "no more..." and then end up with the big "V" doing darn near "everything"...
unquote.
Shit David, what a model for our profession, this guy says he has strung 10,000 raquets a year at Bollettierie's, (during 5 years) so, let's say he works 6 day's a week for 48 weeks a year, that makes 288 days a year that he would have slaved away, that makes 35 racquets a day. :D
I ran stringing Teams for tournaments during 5 years, I employed 16 full time stringers and did contract stringing for about 30 shops in the Paris Region, They were mostly Sri Lankis, the best stringers that I have ever worked with, and the only time I had guys string an average of 35 racquets a day it was for 3 straight days on the Qualies at R.G. and they worked 14-15 hours a day (night). :o
So the best stringer in the world has managed to be "doing darn near everything. . . " at Volkl, and before that he was Pete's personal stringer for a year (wow!!) I must admit that I am impressed, and it just goes to show that even if you can string 24 frames in a day, and if I am quite happy to string 12, we have a hell of a long way to go before we can kiss Tom Parry's feet. :eek:
Maybe he know's who JAKEPERRY is, apparantly another jerk in this business. :confused:
What do you think David?
David Pavlich
2004-12-23, 16:15
Jay Cee,
What's funny is when someone runs the numbers, as you have done. Sorry, there's no way this fellow did 10,000 frames a year. Any time I see that sort of claim, I take it for what it's worth. There are certainly many times in the early rounds of a major that everyone in the stringing house is going to do 30+ frames in a day. But this is only a temporary situation. 35 a day everyday? No way.
Are you going to get involved in RG this year? Just curious.
Also, why is it that the Sri Lankis are so good at stringing?...at least what you think is the reason. At the GSS board, some of the pros there say that a couple of the Japanese stringers are really amazing.
I'd love to see it.
David
@ David,
Yeh, we have names for people making claims like that, but we agree on the basis, it is just not possible, there again a lot of what is written in that posting raises more questions than it answers. :confused:
I think that it looks like an attempt to show what an "insider" is, and just how qualified he is. The trouble is that when the shit hit the fan the guy ran for cover. I may be wrong but 1 + 1 doesn't make 3. It just doesn't add up, this posting is completely out of context, and the guy writing it has a real ego problem. :p
The Sri Lankis, that were all formed by me, are so fluid in their movements, their hands never stop moving, they never appear to rush yet very smoothly they can string up to 4 racquets an hour perfectly and over a 10 hour day you can count on 30 racquets minimum. That's good to have on a team. They were also very serious and really tuned into what they do, no crap, just damned good stringers. As for me, I pulled out of this business in 1993 and would not go back, it's far too tough from almost every point of view, I have real respect for those who do it. ;)
Cheers,
JC :cool:
Where do you people live that has such poor stringing? I guarantee 24 hour turn around. No labor charge if I fail (never have, by the way). I even had a day that I had 26 frames come in and got all of them done withing 24 hours.
Now I know tournament stringers do 30 or 35 a day BUT...they aren't also waiting on people in a shop, answering the phone and so on. It's a wonder any of these places you mentioned keep stringing customers.
David
Well Tigard Oregon here - one shop took two months to get a bumper guard in the middle of racquetball season, the next is inconsistent with the tension and after hanging around here its cause they would string one racquet on a Prince 3000 and the other on a Prince Neos - constant versus lockout so both racquets didn't play the same, also many times I'd go in and my frames were not done yet - next our RB Association stringer is on the other side of town and hard to get hold of to get him your racquet or pick up afterwards - so I bought a SP Jazz and havn't regretted it at all
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