I've had success using waxed polyester whipping twine as leaders,
simply tied with a 'sheet bend' to the string. Polyester has
practically no stretch in it, so it works well. You can get this twine
from any yacht chandlery or from ebay.
As Howard suggests, it's best to try the graphite treatment first.
Bill
__________________________________________________________________
From: howard posner <[email protected]>
To: lute List <[email protected]>
Sent: Monday, 2 January 2012, 7:03
Subject: [LUTE] Re: Non-stretchy pegbox leaders.
On Jan 1, 2012, at 10:49 PM, Herbert Ward wrote:
> Stretching of strings between the nut and the peg is causing
> me severe difficulty in tuning -- I can turn the peg
> 90 or 120 degrees with no response in the pitch.
>
> Lubricating the nut is of course a possibility.
A necessity, if you can really give the peg more than a quarter turn
with no result. Take a pencil and draw lines in the grooves until
you've put a layer of graphite down in the groove.
> But I'd also like to try replacing the portion of the string
> between nut and peg with a leader of some material which
> (a) does not stretch,
> (b) can be tied securely and easily to the string,
> (c) will not slip on the peg,
> (d) will not damage anything,
> (e) is strong enough, and
> (f) is readily available.
>
> Does anyone have experience in this?
Go to your local fishing supply shop, talk to someone who is not a
fish, and ask for leader. That's the stuff you want. If your
knot-tying skills are halfway decent (i.e. better than mine) you should
be able to join it securely to your string. Having the knot resting on
the nut will solve all your sticking problems, but likely leave you
with not enough string to retie the knot if it comes undone.
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