Help: Brass wire strings needed

Subject: Brass wire strings needed
From: Jim Krause
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 01:57 PM

I passed by another thread about guitar strings and thought about a rather arcane instrument I play that uses a pair brass wire strings for one of its courses. Does anyone have a source for them? They need to have looped ends and a thickness of .020 inch. (I don't know how much that is metric.) This isn't brass plated wire, but solid brass music wire.

Barring the loop end strings sold individually, I could buy brass music wire in bulk if I had a gizzmo to make the loop ends myself. Any ideas about where to acquire such a gizzmo?
Jim

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: Jim Krause
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 02:25 PM

Refresh

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: ollaimh
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 03:07 PM

i'm looling for some too for a medieval cittern i rarely play but would if i could find the brass strings.

i haerd of a string man named larsen but i e mailed him with no reply, and maybe the early music shoppe in england.

there was also a northern english shop that i heard had them but i long ago lost the cite

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: Jon Freeman
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 03:38 PM

Jim, I have on, several occasions, got away with making a crude loop end on steel and wound strings buy just making a crude loop with a pair of pliers. These makeshift strings have taken a little bit more tuning to get to tension than a "proper" string (they slip a bit to start with) but they have held for me.

I know it's not as good as a proper tool and I don't know if it would work for you but it may be worth getting a small length of wire and trying it to see if it will work.

Jon

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: Sorcha
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 06:11 PM

I don't know, but you might try some of these:
Acoustic Brass Masters
Bronze and Brass (scroll down)
Brass strings at Elderly

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 20 Nov 01 - 08:05 PM

I don't know anything about these guys, except that they popped up in a search, but it looks like - If they don't have what you want, they can at least help you figure out what you want.

The Instrument Workshop

They have wire, in a variety of materials and sizes, and also appear to have a s.. load of info about ancient instrument repair, maintenance, etc.

I'm gonna go back and play there some more.

John

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: GUEST,JohnB
Date: 21 Nov 01 - 12:50 PM

Ther is a tool used in the aircraft industry for wirelocking. it is basically a pair of locking pliers with a knurled nut on a twisted rod in the centre of them. You lock the pliers on the wire, pull on the knurled nut and the pliers rotate giving a twist to the wires. They may be a bit pricey and perhaps difficult to find but would do a really good job for you. They would be called "wirelocking pliers". JohnB

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: JohnInKansas
Date: 21 Nov 01 - 01:48 PM

The problem with the "Safety Wire" pliers is that they do "twist" the wire, rather than just wrapping the free end around the "standing end" like you want. The twist in the tensioned side of the string will weaken it significantly when you try to tune up.

This may be okay, depending on the instrument you're using the string on, but if it's going to "speak" well, the string needs to be pulled up to fairly close to its breaking (yield point) tension.

Form a loop over something round that's close to the size you want for the final loop - I've used the smooth end of a 5/16 drill. Wrap the short end around the main wire. Try to keep the first few turns at least so that they touch each other. Put on quite a few (10 or more) wraps. It helps to keep enough tension on the "main" side to keep it fairly straight.

Trim the end, and then use a round and smooth pin of some sort to pull the loop out "long" like you want it. If possible, do the final forming over something that's about the same diameter as whatever it will hook onto on the instrument.

Commercial string mfrs use quite a bit of tension on the "wrap" side of the wire, so that it bites into the main wire. Since you can't easily do that - without weakening the wire - just add a few more turns.

Practice helps, but it's not that difficult.

John

Subject: RE: Help: Brass wire strings needed
From: Jim Krause
Date: 29 Nov 01 - 03:00 PM

Thanks. I checked out the Instrument Workshop webpage & book marked it. They have looped brass wire strings, just the kind I want in the guage I need. What a great find! Thanks all.
Jim