Digital fish scales for tension calibration

Hello to everyone and anyone who follows me. Many apologies for the delay between posts. Between my other blog, playing tennis, marketing and so on and so forth, I have had little time to post. But, I just invested in a moderately priced digital fish scale which I am going to use for tension calibration--similar to the picture on the left.

The reason for this is twofold.

Reason one: price. Tension calibrators made specifically for racquet stringing calibration are very pricey compared to fish scales. Even the most most expensive fish scales are only about $25, where stringing specific calibrators start at about $30 and can go upwards of $75.

Reason two: accuracy. Just based on what I have read, the stringing specific calibrators--even the expensive ones--tend to be wildly inaccurate. The fish scales are accurate up to .01 pounds; well, according to the company specs. Whether or not this is true remains to be seen.

I've even read that the ATP tournament stringers are mostly using fish scales now as well. Again, this is here-say. I'll take is as fact when I actually talk to some ATP tournament stringers. Once I get the fish scale, I am going to test it with a known weight. I have some dumbbells of varying weights which I will use. I'm assuming the weight of the dumbbells are true--so we shall see how this works. I'm of the assumption that my Eagnas is  about 2-3 pounds too low; but I don't want to blindly compensate by going up 2-3 pounds.

Of course, I might be a little less concerned if I upgraded machines. As I stated in an earlier post, I was thinking about getting a Gamma 5003. But I was thinking about getting a Gamma X-ST tabletop. It is essentially the same as the 5003, minus the base. The reasoning for doing this, other than the lower cost, is that I believe I can take the top off and put it on my Eagnas base. I know for sure that the tension pull is compatible with the Eagnas. I most likely would have to rig up a new breaking system, but that isn't very difficult. In case anyone reading this has tried this, or happens to have a X-ST and can give me the diameter of the shaft; I would greatly appreciate your input. We'll see what happens. I truly need to get a set-up with nicer clamps. The Eagnas, while sufficient, pinch a little too much no matter how much I loosen them--I can't loosen them too much, or I'll get slippage.

I will update my fish scale experiment as soon as I receive it and try it out. I welcome everyone's comments if you have tried a fish scale.

Ode to the Prince Spectrum Comp 90

Ode to the Prince Spectrum Comp 90

You were my stick from 1994 to 2006

Prince manufactured you in 1986

So happy you made me with beams so narrow

You directed my shots like a speeding arrow....

OK, that's enough of my feeble attempt at tennis racquet poetry--just be thankful I don't start transcribing my high school poetry journal (you never know, there could be a market for twisted, poetic, emo racquet stringers).

The Prince spectrum comp was my stick of choice for many years. It was somewhat of a random occurance that I ended up using it at all. Through most of my high school days I played with a mizuno "reactor" I believe--too bad mizuno stopped making racquets; they were actually pretty nice sticks. I happened to be browsing around a sporting goods store on Oracle Road in Tucson, AZ when I came across a brand new Spectrum Comp 90 (with grey leather grip and all) on clearance for about $30. I needed an extra frame to keep as backup--I broke a frame or two on occasion back then; poor anger management skills (in fact, I need to check with an old buddy of mine who had saved a mutilated mizuno frame of mine from a memorable outburst at practice for posterities sake). 

I strung it up with Gosen OG Micro most likely (my string of choice for many years) and took it for a test hit. Let me tell you, it was night and day from any frame I had ever used. Even though it was 1986 technology and this was 1994, it felt and played better than any stick I had ever used. It was small; 90 sq. in. It was heavy; close to 13 oz. strung; but it was frickin' awesome. Having a 14x18 pattern, I generated a ton of spin. It was somewhat forgiving on shots toward the frame; but if you could get the sweetspot, then goodnight Mr. Penn.

I put an ad in the USRSA magazine classified section looking to buy more of my new love. I got a response fairly quickly from a gentleman who had three of them in pretty nice condition. I believe I paid about a hundred bucks for all three--not a bad deal, but slightly more than what I paid (per racquet) for a brand new one. These frames would last me the next 12 years or so. Through College tennis, teaching and other competitive play. Eventually, the grommets just got too worn out to continue to string. Believe me, I tried numerous times to find new bumper sets for my beloved racquets, but it just was not to be. The frames never showed the slightest hint of cracking, chipping, etc... They were built like frickin' tanks--other than the plastic bumper guards/grommets of course. 

It's just as well I suppose. As I've aged and grown--horizontally--I found my current Dunlop Vision 102s to be a little easier on the arm and a little more forgiving on mis-hits. I'm not even sure I could consistently hit the sweetspot anymore on a 90 in. frame as I'm so used to the extra 10 in. now. But I look back in fondness to my beloved Prince Spectrum Comp 90. They simply do not make them like that anymore.

A brave man once requested me; to answer questions that are key...

EB said...
Can we get a run down on your equipment? Stringing maching, tools, set-up, etc.? Also, maybe a run down on the type of player you are. This is a very interesting blog, glad I came across it.

I wanted to respond to EB and thank him for the kind words-- it's good to know that I'm presenting something interesting; at least to EB.

As for my playing pedigree: I'm 33 years old now and rated at NTRP 4.5-- although I might be closer to 4.0 considering the number of injuries and surgeries I've had the past couple of years that have caused me to gain a lot of weight. However, I'm back in playing condition now and losing the pounds rapidly. I played junior/high school tennis in Southern Arizona. I played two years of College tennis at Western New England in Springfield, MA. I'm USPTA certified and have taught off and on at clubs and independently since I was about 20; though I haven't given formal lessons in almost four years now. I played with the original Prince Spectrum Comp 90 from high school up until about three years ago when my frames became too beat up to continue to use. As for current racquets and string: I posted about that in an earlier blog.

I first began stringing at age 13 on a cheap TR stringer. I mentioned this in a previous blog (but I couldn't remember the model). At around 15, my then high school coach in Wyoming (right before I moved to Arizona) taught me almost everything I have needed to know about stringing on his Ektelon Model H. I believe, but am not certain, that he was USRSA certified. When I moved to Arizona, I "upgraded" to an Eagnas 800. It was actually a pretty reliable machine and I must have strung at least a thousand racquets before the tension pull crapped out about 8-9 years later. I was a member of the USRSA for about five years but never got my certification.

After that, I would use a machine at whatever club I was working at; occasionally I would actually have to pay out of pocket for stringing--a horror that I hope is never again bestowed upon me. As I mentioned previously, I've had a number of injuries the past 3 years and did not get back into stringing until about six months ago. That's when I found an Eagnas Hawk 800 on e-bay on the cheap. Yes, I know it's somewhat on the low end of the totem pole, but there is something to be said about South Korean racquet-machine-ripoff-technology. Actually I'm planning on upgrading to a Gamma 5003 in the near future-- or something a bit nicer if the right used machine comes along.

In essence, I'm by no means an expert authority on all things stringing. But considering I've strung off and on for the past twenty years now and have used about every type of machine, technique and string there is; I do have some useful knowledge to share. I guess I have what you would call a "home" stringing business. It's mainly a means of providing myself and my family with a little extra cash for bills and groceries. I truly do love all things tennis and find that the current stringing industry is pretty much the same as it has been the past twenty years. Other than the very high-end $5000+ stringers, I find most current machines to be no better and perhaps even of inferior quality as they were in the past. As for strings; other than the shift toward poly and hybrids, I don't see any significant advances in actual playability. For me, nothing will ever beat real cow gut string--however, that is a luxury for me.

More than anything, I would like this blog to be a little offbeat and unique. I'm not going to bore anyone with constant technical jargon and copy-and-pasted reviews of the newest, latest-greatest machine or string. You can find excellent tech. info on strinforum.net, grand slam stringers, talk tennis and of course the USRSA site. I make a good part of my living as a freelance writer and combining my love of writing with my interest in stringing seemed like an interesting concept for me to explore. Just so everyone knows, I tend to be on the philosophical and existential side when it comes to my writing, so be prepared for some posts that will be unlike other tennis stringing blogs. I have another blog as well: http://toddcurl.blogspot.com/ Everyone here is welcome to check it out. But some of my posts are of a political nature and I'm sure there is someone that will be offended by my political views--but hey, I'm open minded and this blog is not for politics or anything other than tennis stringing and things related to stringing/tennis. Republicans, Democrats, Fascists, Communists and neo-libertarian-marxist-keynesian-mutants all love a well strung racquet.

Thanks again to everyone who has stopped by and who will stop by and make this the most kick-ass esoteric/existentialist racquet stringing blog on the internet. I also welcome anyone to ask me to post on here any articles or reviews you may have written. Also, if you want me to share a link to something interesting and relevant to this blog, that won't be a problem--just nothing that I would consider a shameless plug for a product: IE: A Prince press release about the new "Fart-reducing Vortex 2.0" --remember the Vortex? (barf)
Personal reviews of any subject-related products are fine.

----I hope that answers some of your questions EB : )

-Todd

Link to my story on Andre Agassi and Meth

Hello everyone,

I wanted to give a link to a story I posted on another blog of mine about Andre Agassi's recent (well-somewhat recent) admission of meth-amphetamine use almost ten years ago. I know it's not stringing-related, but it is tennis-related, and I think it might be of interest to many of you. Thanks again for stopping by The Daily Stringer.

http://toddcurl.blogspot.com/2010/04/agassi-rational-thoughts-on-tennis-meth.html