You can make a string jig out of B-line available in electrical places. Pretty cheap and usually only takes a time or two to have decent strings. I have the directions I used to make mine somewhere if you' re interested. It is the same as the Dream Machine. Hardest thing would be making the posts. After you actually see how easy it is to make them and also the price involed (compared to how big a markup there is) you' ll wonder why people just " have to have" the big buck strings.