Is there anywhere where I can get .012 gauge string on a reel or coil ?
I've just been given an old Esraj ( type of small sitar , but played with a bow ) which needs restringing . The seventeen sympathetic strings are all .012 gauge so I thought it would be more economical if I could get a reel .
Thanks in advance .

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Music is it's own reward .

That sounds like an interesting instrument Dave, so I've done a little quick research on your behalf. I don't know the Esraj but I am familiar with Ustad Sultan Khan playing the Sarangi.

Steel strings for guitars and similar are made from Piano wire, which is also known as spring steel. The obvious source would be guitar string manufacturers, so in the UK Rotosound and Newtone are the obvious people to approach.

But if you want to shop around, Google for spring wire, I don't know whether that search will work with the link, but if you use the term for your own search you will find plenty of suppliers.

And to help your search, some of the suppliers might list the wire by AWG (American Wire Gauge) or SWG (Standard Wire Gauge). AWG28 is 0.01260" and SWG30 is 0.0124".

Hope that helps Dave, and let us know how you get on.

Andy

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When the going gets weird, the Weird turn Pro.

The stuff has a good range of uses. Auto-glass installers use it as a sort of garrote to cut around the edge of the old window without unduly damaging the metal. A well-stocked hobby-supply shop will likely have dozens of gauges (usually cut to a 2- or 3-foot length) for use in jewelry, model-plane servo arms, & threading stock.

Also inquire about "music wire".

Here's some random vendors from my links list:
http://www.gravesrc.com/category_s/718.htm
http://www.hobby-lobby.com/music_wire_424_ctg.htm
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=bl_sr_industrial?_encoding=UTF8&node=16310 091&field-brandtextbin=Precision%20Brand
http://www.grainger.com/Grainger/music-wire/supplies/hardware/ecatalog/N-9 bz
http://www.brownells.com/.aspx/pid=9887/product/MUSIC_WIRE_SPRING_STOCK

Let us know how it turn out!

Thanks guys , I shall pursue the local possibilities first . Here in Jersey we only have one music shop , but several Boatyards which I hadn't thought of before .
-First attempt at uploading images ;

21 strings !
One-piece tun wood ( ?) body
Goatskin " soundboard " and camel bone ( ? I guess ) bridge
Next to my NS NXT EUB for scale
26 inches from nut to bridge

The best tuning info I have found is ; http://chandrakantha.com/articles/indian_music/dilruba/dilruba_tuning_2.ht ml however mine doesn't have any jawari strings but it does have 17 tarif strings whereas the illustration shows 15 . My friend brought it back from Northern India in 2005 .
The joke about the centipede footballer who rescues the game in the second half springs to mind ; he spent the first half putting his boots on .
" Where were you in the first set ? " . Reply ; " Tuning up ! "
Looks like a winter project but I'll certainly keep you posted .Hopefully by then I'll also have figured out how to post larger images too . Thankyou again .

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Music is it's own reward .