I want to make a bowed string with a scale length of 14." I see where others have used steel wire (not that I could find any at Home Depot). From my estimations, I believe to tune that to a D like on guitar's fourth string, the gauge should be somewhere between .060 and .068. Does that sound reasonable to you pros in here? Thx.
You need to be a member of Cigar Box Nation to add comments!
I clicked that link to order and then they won't ship it, they want curbside pickup so I agree. After the Paypal transaction it turns out they think I'm going to drive from Las Vegas to California to pick it up. Now how to cancel. Hmmm....
It depends how much tension you want. I calculate that a plain steel 0.064 (the middle of your range) would be 40lbs of tension when tuned to D3. That seems pretty high to me.
If you look at 4/4 sized violins (13" scale length) they usually have string tensions of 12 to 18lbs. If you wanted to go for a tension in the middle that range... use a plain steel 0.040 for 15lbs of tension when tuned to D3 on a 14" scale.
So are you talking about a one string fiddle? That’s weird, Home Depot in my area carries steel wire? have you tried Ace Hardware, they carry steel wire?
Replies
I think that’s a Toombi not a Rawanatha?
A violin string is always the best choice, but this what I used? Actually piano wire, so better than construction wire? I’m in Cali, so it may not be available in your area? https://www.homedepot.com/p/OOK-9-ft-50-lbs-Smooth-High-Carbon-Stee...
It depends how much tension you want. I calculate that a plain steel 0.064 (the middle of your range) would be 40lbs of tension when tuned to D3. That seems pretty high to me.
If you look at 4/4 sized violins (13" scale length) they usually have string tensions of 12 to 18lbs. If you wanted to go for a tension in the middle that range... use a plain steel 0.040 for 15lbs of tension when tuned to D3 on a 14" scale.
So are you talking about a one string fiddle? That’s weird, Home Depot in my area carries steel wire? have you tried Ace Hardware, they carry steel wire?