Hey guys, I thought we should have an official string making discussion thread where the experienced guys can chat and newcomers to the thread-spinnin’ world could ask questions about getting started.
Where do you guys make your string? And do you have a dedicated rig? I make it in my basement, and I have a 13 string rig, which takes up a ton of space 
I have a drill and my room, simple as that.
Nice! That’s how I started. I reccomend getting a dremel though, you can make strings wayy faster.
Rocking a 10 string rig right now. I’d like like to build a 15 or so fancy rig that would hold all of my thread and twist all of the strings at the same time, but that would take up tons of space and require a pretty hefty financial investment.
Also, currently experimenting with how the different tensions strings are held at while twisting them together effects play. Some pretty interesting results so far.
I actually make mine outside, because I don’t have room in my house for long strings.
So for those of you with multi-string rigs. Are you set up for them all to twist/wind/spin simultaneously? If so… how?
read jake elliots guide.
Just read, ty. Not exactly what I was looking for but definitely worth reading.
I was looking more for how to wind them all at the same time rather then setting them all up and winding one at a time.
My only idea is to set up a few small (used probably cheaper) electric r/c plane motors on the same channel.
Wow, that sounds like it would work. the only thing is the price. if you have a multi-string rig, you’d have to buy a fair number of the moters.
Motors new start around 14$ for one with ~13000rpm and 24 for ~33000rpm comparable to a dremel. The also sell gear reduction kits (which im sure you can rig in reverse) and belt drives for around 10-15 each. Obviously this would work better for people who have their rigs mounted on plywood and not across a living or bed room.
I use mini4wd to spin the string, a screw in the wall, and a door handle.
There are two ways to do it. The fastest will be using two mini4wd, one to twist the string, and one to fold the string in half and spin in the opposite direction to finalize the string, instead of using a yoyo in the middle…
I can get like one string in two minutes… and this rig is way much cheaper than using dremel or drill…
In addition to having motors, I believe people will also often use like the sliding mechanism in a drawer with a spring attached to the back of a piece of wood attached to the drawer mechanism and having the spring also attached to a stationary block. This keeps the tension on the string while the motors are turning.
yea i hadn’t quite thought of the best way to do a track system yet
My current rig (#7) loads, spins and folds 20 strings at a time. I takes up a huge space along a wall in my basement. It is the culmination of over 8 years of string making.
As you develop YOUR rigs, try to keep the following in mind: “Does this make my string-making process easier? AND faster? Without sacrificing the quality of my product?”
Those are my guiding principles in rig design.
/Paul
/Gsimian
/yoyoGstring.com
I’m not a string maker but I noticed several people talk about motors. With a coupon, you can buy knockoff Dremels at Harbor Freight for about $7. Wouldn’t take much to put a row of those to use. Plug them all in to the same power strip and use the strip’s switch to turn them on. Of course, they only run at one very fast speed.
with dremels you wouldn’t be able to click all of them on and off in time. the strings would get to tight.
Problem solved…
ahhhh, didn’t see that. I guess that would work as well, but the only way for this to be better then doing them by hand, is if you had a really big rig. If you can afford that many moters/dremals then go for it! ;D
If you’re in it as a business venture, the cost of a set of motors (Dremels, knock-off dremels, etc) should be factored into your business plan and should be considered the cost of Doing It Right™. It’s one thing to make string for yourself at home, and another entirely to have a production process that can help you make money.
String doesn’t sell for mega bucks per unit, so the way to make money at (and the only way to not go crazy!) it is to be able to produce consistent string and in decent quantities.
I’m working on plans to make a rig that twists 12 or 15 strings at once, right now I twist them one at a time, but atleast I can have 13 strung up at once