Upgrading your racket stringing machine - some must have features

[@alanb76]

I was looking at my machine yesterday (Gamma 9900) and was reminded that one of the racket holding fingers (of two) was very slightly angled off center. It has been this way since I got it. It's not enough to really matter, but yesterday I decided to look at it more carefully and noticed that these finger side angles can be adjusted by rotating the hex carrier they slide in after loosening it. So I realigned the fingers. I also adjusted the table friction which has always been set very low so the table moves more easily than one might want. I'm even more impressed with this stringing machine's adjustability after fine tuning it. The towers move with one knob that moves them in opposite directions so the racket stays centered, and it can handle larger or much smaller rackets without fuss. The four point outside holding Vees tighten with just two knobs so a total of 3 knobs is enough to quickly mount a racket while automatically centering it. There are two other knobs for fine tuning the fingers in/out from the towers but those generally are not required to be adjusted. So 3 knobs instead of the Baiardo's 4 used to mount most rackets. It also has a built in string measuring system which measures to 1/10th of a foot or similar precision in meters. So measuring string or cutting sets precisely is easy and accurate. The Gamma user interface has well labelled buttons so no menus are needed. It seems to have all the usual features and also has memories if one wants to use them. It has a sense of mains and crosses tension that helps to keep organized when different tensions are desired. It has a good table brake and a large tool tray which I have made 3d printed inserts for to organize my tools. I see the current 9900 has drawers as well, my unit is a few years old and doesn't have the drawers, but the tool tray is larger than most and easily holds enough tools. The 9900 also motors up and down to adjust machine height, but it does not angle nor have stringer position memory which the Baiardo does have. That feature is useful when a machine is used by a group of people so they can store their favorite machine adjustments for later recall. For a single stringer this feature is not needed. As I mentioned the other day an option on the 9900 is excellent locking soft rubber casters so the machine can be moved easily and locked into place when in use. When not in use the floorspace can be recovered and used for other things. I did a lot of research when choosing this machine some years ago, I'm still happy with it. I've not needed customer service on this one, however I did have a couple of issues with an earlier Gamma machine and they took care of it and all the shipping costs when that was needed. So customer service was good. Alan B

[@thediplomat3137]

When you "drop" the string clamp to release the base: aren't you apprehensive because of the nicking of the string? Just releasing the string doesn't "drop" the base, you have to aggressively flick up on the string clamp lever and it flies off the string and theres scope with that rapid movement to nick the string coating. Do you dispute that?

[@CossuMaister]

yes, you can damage the coating by releasing the clamp before the base. personally i don't care, i believe it wont effect the string performance in any way. customers might tho, one may not know how strings or rackets work, but one still knows how to judge aesthetics.