On Sat, 05 Feb 2005 08:28:56 -0500, Miles Dempster <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote:
> So: A gut chanterelle is the most desirable and yet the most fragile. > As far as I understand it, the glue, which has a very low surface > tension, quickly penetrates the fibres, and has the effect of binding > them together. In my experience, the string will resist much longer > before starting to degrade and fray. 02/05/05 Hello Miles, I'd heard of bass viol players using Lanolin Oil on their gut bass strings to keep them in good shape during changes in humidity. So I decided to try them on the lute gut strings to see if it would help with the fraying problem, as well as humidity problems. I got a bottle (4oz, 118ml) of pure Lanolin Oil (about the consistancy of thick honey) from www.herbalremedies.com for $4.19 US plus shipping, and tried it out. I used a cotton cloth to rub all courses down with the Lanolin Oil. Then I had to retune, since the oil is so thick it changed the effective diameter of the strings! Seemed to work holding down the fraying problem, until I noticed that the rubbing cloth was beginning to cause the treble strings to fray. Oh well. My next thought it so apply the Lanolin Oil to my finger tips before playing, and see if that will help ease the fraying problem. Always searching.... "The Other" Stephen Stubbs, Champaign, IL USA To get on or off this list see list information at http://www.cs.dartmouth.edu/~wbc/lute-admin/index.html
