PHOTOGRAPHS
If you have a setup you consider unique and want to share it with others please send a photo to info@tennishead.com. We’re particularly interested in how you adapted your drop weight with the 2086. We’ll post it on a page that will follow this blog.

GOOD NEWS FOR BADMINTON STRINGERS
As its name implies the 2086 pulls from 20 – 86 pounds. But the new model (2086A) pulls from 15 to 86 pounds, just the perfect range for badminton stringers. Everything else is the same, linear gripper, simple controls, pounds/kilos, pre-stretch, etc.

ADAPTERS
Some people have questioned which adapter they need to fit the 2086 to their stringer. We only have two. If you have a drop weight machine (even if it’s a Gamma) you will need the drop weight adapter.

All crank machines slide onto the tension bar easily, but the Gamma crank requires the Gamma adapter to raise the 2086 up to the level of the string bed. Simple enough.

DIABLO
Every new 2086 comes with the diablo – no need to order it. Older machines and non-2086 stringers can be retrofitted easily.

ROLLER BEARINGS
The bearings in the gripper like nothing more than a single drop of oil, front and back, left and right. Do it when you think they are dry or are sticking. Use only ’3 In One’ brand, red cap. It works wonders.

SPEED
Much has been said recently of the time it takes to string a racket, and which machine can do it faster.  Consider this: A competent stringer might take 20 – 30 minutes to do a good job.  That means consistent pulls, clean grommet holes (no burrs), tubes where appropriate, sturdy knots. Forty pulls per racket at 3 seconds each (at the most), accounts for less than 120 seconds (2 minutes of the 30 minutes for the job). So if you want to speed up the process then improving your weaving speed seems the way to go.  The company that featured speed races has announced they are leaving the business.

RETURNS
Need to return a machine for repair or re-calibration? Use the authorization form on this site to give us all the pertinent information. Why is it being returned? And please remember to remove the Diablo before packing it in a well-protected carton with at least two inches of insulation on each side,and hopefully in the cushioned carton in which you received it. It is usually not necessary to send the electric cord, power supply or foot switch.

WHAT’S THE DIFFERENTIAL?
During stringing, when the string tension drops below the set tension, constant pull brings it back in the range, over-pulling slightly for the next loss. The variation between the high and low points is called the differential. Cheaper machines might have a differential of several pounds. The more precise and expensive tensioners vary in ounces, rather than pounds. The 2086 is a low-cost solution with the same high precision and minimum differential as the most expensive machines on the market.