Polymide Thread

[Ted]

I prefer the cobblers' waxed thread to the pre-waxed stuff. I find the adhesive quality of the wax holds the head on the staple better and it eliminates the need to use PTFE tape to assure air-tightness. You can still remove the wrap to adjust the depth that the head is placed on the staple. After unwrapping, you can still re-wax the thread, if needed. After applying it, the wax stiffens unwaxed dental tape so it bonds well to the previous layers as well as to the staple. The wax must not be previously waxed before applying the cobblers' wax.

[Tilori]

I am just getting into the subject of thread science but it seems to be a really versatile topic.

I'm not sure what you mean by "the layers went over each other". They should overlap.

I used two layers of the dental tape. After tying on when I wanted to scrape the reed, the layers slid down towards the staple. So the reed basically unbound itself.
I hope this is more understandable now.

And the addition of the cobbler's wax to the dental tape is what makes it sticky enough not to move around.

I also had the feeling that the wax should be helping with this. I only used beeswax and it did not prevent any sliding of the thread.
I bought cobblers wax some time ago. It was as hard as a diamond. Waxing a thread with it was impossible, the wax just did not stick on the dental floss I tried it with. I mixed it with beeswax and the wax became softer but still only very little stuck onto the thread. Maybe this was because of the dental floss, though.

The wax must not be previously waxed before applying the cobblers' wax.

This is a really good tip. I thought that I used unwaxed dental floss but maybe the thread is at fault. What type of thread would you use for tying on?

[tompipes]

I 'dilute' the cobblers wax with beeswax to make it much more useable.
Melt and mix 2 parts beeswax to 1 part cobblers wax or thermowax. Pour the mixture into some kind of mould to cool.

I use a thicker cotton thread that's used in crocheting and combined with the wax it will seal a reed perfectly every time.
I avoid the yellow hemp stuff nowadays but I still have some that I'll still use to tighten joints and such but I always find that it sticks in clumps to the wax and after making a dozen reeds your just left with a yellow, hairy ball of wax!

Tommy

[Ted]

I make "cobblers" wax from a real formula for it. I call it shoemakers' wax. I make a soft one which contains 8% beeswax. It coats dental tape and other unwaxed threads easily. A pre-waxed tape or thread will not accept cobblers' wax. Too much bees' wax reduces the stickiness of the product. Thermowax and some others are made with an oil which can dry out, leaving a hard product which will not coat thread well. I don't use oil in mine. PM me, if you want to get some.

[patsky]

Here is a great supplier of waxed Nylon thread called lacing tape much smaller and stronger than Polymide. The company is called Ico Rally

This stuff is used by the airplane industry to bind electric cable.

http://www.icorally.com/wire-cable.htm


Pat Sky

[MichaelLoos]

This stuff is used ... to bind electric cable.

This is exactly what Andreas Rogge's stuff had been used for, by German Telecom 20+ years ago.
The lacing tape is made from nylon, which is polyamide, so I guess it probably is very much the same.

[Ted]

The usual "hemp" used in joints is fuzzy. Before waxing it, I pull the area to be waxed between thumb and forefinger several times to remove excess fuzz, then apply the wax. I only use a pea sized lump of wax at a time. This keeps the wax from collecting fuzz on a large piece of it. While the small piece is still warm from each use, the excess fuzz can be removed from it and discarded. Shoemakers use this fuzzy hemp all the time when making wax ends. One of them told me to use a small piece to control the fouling of the whole thing with the fuzz.