I tried twisting some brass strings of my own some time back. The basic process I used was to clamp the loose ends and then to turn the loop end via a hook set into a power drill running at lowest speed. The greatest problems I had were a) getting an even twist, and b) breakage.
It seems that the process of twisting tended to work-harden the strings. In casual conversations with others, the process of annealing the strings was suggested, but I never came to a definitive answer -- and therefore gave up. I would also be interested in knowing if anyone out there has any "secrets" for how to do so. Lacking a twisted string, I have been getting by with a single (untwisted) .018" brass string for my 3rd course. It doesn't play as true as I'd hope, but it has worked as a stopgap measure. Best, -Andrew At 12:03 PM 9/14/2006, Christopher Davies wrote: >Thank you all for the info on sourcing strings. The local source here in >Oregon does have the wire but untwisted, and suggests I twist it myself. >Does anyone have any info on how to? And, how to arrive at a Thou >equivalent (ie., do you twist 2 10 thou strings together to make a 20 >thou twisted string?)? It was suggested to me that you wrap spring brass >over soft brass. Also was suggested it is a 2-person operation, and is >not that difficult. Any specifics? > > > >To get on or off this list see list information at >http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
