Many thanks for this detailed reply - I'll have to digest it before
seeing if I'm capable of doing anything realistic.
But first a couple more questions:
1. As an adhesive to bind the filaments together you use agar/salt:
could one use an adhesive like PVA which is flexible and possibly
easier to use and possibly rather more resistant to moisture?
2. Why does one need to start with individual filaments (eg 300 of
20/22Denier) - could one not start with silk twine which I note the
firm you mentioned also offers? Presumably the twine is twisted evenely
so much of the work is done.
--- On Fri, 27/3/09, alexander <[email protected]> wrote:
From: alexander <[email protected]>
Subject: Re: [LUTE] Re: Loaded Silk/gut questions 1
To: "Martyn Hodgson" <[email protected]>
Cc: "lute List" <[email protected]>
Date: Friday, 27 March, 2009, 12:22 PM
I will gladly share with you the process i have used. It might be a
starting point for anyone. Unwillingness to spend money so many times
led to great discoveries!..
For me a difficult point to begin with, was to get a smooth string in
the end. While gut string can be polished and the short filaments stay
locked in, with the resulting smooth surface, silk filament are harder
and will protrude, making for a hairy appearance. I am not sure by the
way, if a loaded gut string is not suffering from the same problem?..
Here is the most successful technique i could come up with.
I used raw silk - continuous filament silk which has fibroin and
sericin in it. There were a few suppliers in the UK, for example
[1]http://www.gaddum.co.uk/silk/silk-yarns/ , you can see 100%
Filament Raw Silk,
available in 20/22D, that would be the one. A good starting point would
be about 300 filaments of 20/22Denier - a goal being some third or
fourth off-the neck bass string. On refinement other strings can be
calculated accordingly.
These 300 filaments of raw silk (of a proper length, let's say 170 cm)
are tied at the ends, so that you have a nice parallel filaments that
can be twisted in the end.
Now this silk has to be degummed - the sericin needs to be removed. I
done this using soda ash with a mild soap - not too much of either,
just so that the mixture starts feeling slippery between your fingers,
but not slimy. (the same supplier probably has a proper degumming mix).
Use a pot large enough to suspend the silk from some sort of a stick-
the goal being that all of the silk in loose form gets cooked. After 40
-45 minutes near boiling temperature, with a gentle moving about, rinse
the silk well, possibly wash once more with a mild soap, and finally
rinse with distilled water, to avoid extra minerals. All this has to be
done with a smooth skin hands, rubber gloves did not work for me.
Tiniest filaments start trying to hair out, and the fewer are caught on
the skin, the better.
This bunch of silk can be soaked in the mixture of the salt right at
this point. It will need to be gently moved around, to ensure a good
contact. I found a temperature about 40C to be well manageable. At
higher temperatures the rate of swelling seems less predictable. For
cinnabar about 45 minutes is a good starting point. As we are standing
near the pot, let me tell you were i found the cinnabar. I simply went
to the Kremer Pigmente, which has stores all over the Europe and in
NYC. There might be a cheaper source, as cinnabar actually is not such
a rare mineral.
Now, starting from this particular process i used heavy rubber gloves,
for obvious reasons.
Getting silk out of the pot, put it onto some paper towels, to soak out
water while leaving the salts in. This is a good moment to attach two
small hooks to the ends of the filaments and carefully align the
filaments again, while doing this.
Now we need a glue that will hold the string together. I like the
agar-agar mixed with sea salt, to provide flexibility. Sturgeon glue
with a drop of honey has good qualities, too. Hang the string between
two points and carefully work the glue in. After it is well spread,
start twisting the string. Between a few twists you might want to run
(carefully) your fingers over the string, to make sure the filaments
align well. Twist to a desired degree, certainly so that at a
reasonable tension, the string does not bunch into ugly bumps. Hang
some weights (stretch) and let it dry overnight.
At this point, if not totally successful, the string might have some
uneven spots, due to filaments lying unevenly. Take the cinnabar
pigment and mix with some more of the same glue, a bit heavier then the
initial mix. Paint your string. Here is the work for an artist!
An improvised dye, made of a loop of wire, could insure an even
diameter all through the string.
I think, also a good quality oil paint can be used. Just be aware of
the drying times.
A good varnish, based on oil-resin-accelerator will seal in the job.
Easy enough. Definitely easier then working with gut.
I should mention, that on discussing this matter with a professional
silk thread dyer, he offered to do the whole process, as he does it
every day anyway, safe for the final glueing and twisting. This sort of
cooperation might be a better way?
I do not know anything about the gut wetting. Also, i don't think you
can provide enough loading just by painting the outside of the gut.
However, i could be mistaken.
alexander
On Fri, 27 Mar 2009 08:36:54 +0000 (GMT)
Martyn Hodgson <[2][email protected]> wrote:
>
> Alexandar and Anthony,
>
> I find this correspondance very interesting since I'm considering
> wether I can possibly afford to string all my lutes with Mimmo's
new
> loaded gut but am being equivocal due to the high cost: ie
> many A-L-100s. The possibility of do-it-yourself loading to result
in a
> roughly comparable product is therefore very attractive: I presume
one
> can obtain the copper salt almost anywhere but where can one
obtain the
> plain silk strings?
>
> You mention mercuriuc sulphate as cinnabar (are they the same?):
> obviously the reluctance of Mimmo and others to use mercury or its
> compounds is the high risk of health damage - is mercuric
> sulphate/cinnabar inert?
>
> Finally, accepting that processed gut is difficult/impossible(?)
to
> load effectively is there a (simple) way to encourage it to take
on
> loading. I recall many years ago someone mentioning a 'wetting'
agent
> which didn't cause gut to sweel but enable processed gut to be
> processed more - any thoughts?
>
> Martyn
--
References
1. http://www.gaddum.co.uk/silk/silk-yarns/
2.
http://uk.mc263.mail.yahoo.com/mc/[email protected]
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