Hi again
About those strings. Although those are the normally quoted figures (14/14:19/19;22/22;38/19;48/19;70/14), when you think about it:
       1. He would not have had the SAME ocave string on the 4th AND 5th pair. The most likely thing is that the 5th octave would be about 26 or 28
       2.   22 for the 3rd pair would be light for a guitar in concert pitch let alone when
             tuned down 5 frets. I have 30s there, so 26 or 28 would seem more likely. I have
             been using : 14/14; 18/18 28/28(or 30/30);42/18;52/24;70/34 and I have small
             hands wth a little nerve damage to the first finger but I can still manage. However,
            I will now consider lightening everything up. The Labella silk and steel "C range"
             strings have roughly these guages but being silk and steel, are easier to hold
             down. they are: 14/14;18/18;31/12;44/18;56/25;68/33
       3.   I may well be wrong, but I do not seem to be able to hear the two octave                        
             difference in the bottom pair on the records. I wonder if, just occasionally, in able
             to get the unison on the 3rd pair which seem to characterise his sound, he
             swapped the octaves of the 3rd and 6th pairs of a SET rather than customise, as
             one would otherwise have to do. Maybe the two octave difference is more obvious
            to others with ears better than mine. Then again, there is a close-up photo on the
            Last Sessions box set which seems to confirm the two octave proposition.
I do not know if Harry Lewin or Alvin Youngblood Hart who know a lot about these things
contribute to these blogs or could be approached to give their expert help.
"The 12-String Guitar As Played By Leadbelly (Julius Lester and Pete Seeger) has some useful stuff in it.
Sorry to go on. I hope somebody finds some of this useful.
Huddiesblues