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Regulars
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Mostly these seem to come with good cases, but they are hard to come by otherwise.
Gewa sell one, but it costs between $15 and $20, which is too much money for what it is, and the shop is out of stock anyway. Fiddlershop don't seem to stock them, unless they have a different name.
I feel I should make my own, but finding the right tubing isn't so easy - I've been to my plumbing supplier but his plastic tubing is much too large in diameter. And most of the plastic tubing on Amazon is flexible, not straight. Flexible might be OK for the strings, but it's not going to be so good for the case!
@Irv any ideas?
Update: I just bought these: - psc=1
Andrew
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Hello Andrew and others. My difficulty on this seemingly trivial problem is that I do not know the trade names in England for this sort of thing. Here in the States, I would go to a shipping supply company and look for a 3/4 inch diameter thin wall plastic storage/shipping tube with soft pvc end caps. An IC storage tube is too short (19 inches). A general hardware store would have suitable acrylic tubes, but is sold here in 8 foot lengths so you would either get several or would have an excessive amount of scrap.
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.
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Here is some half inch polycarbonate tubing that would work. 18" or so would be wasted though. The price is right if you have Amazon Prime.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Fiddlerman said
Here is some half inch polycarbonate tubing that would work. 18" or so would be wasted though. The price is right if you have Amazon Prime.
I think you forgot a link, there @Fiddlerman
Irv said
I would go to a shipping supply company and look for a 3/4 inch diameter thin wall plastic storage/shipping tube with soft pvc end caps.
Maybe PETG is a bit luxurious for a string tube and there is cheaper material to be had.
I'm just using screwed up paper for the end-caps, lol! But when I get to East Dulwich I'll look in the hardware shops for assorted plugs and bungs. Originally I looked there for the tubing, but the smallest they had was 1.5".
@Fiddlerman and @AndrewH @Irv
Can anyone tell me how long a viola string is out of the packet and/or how long a viola string tube is please?
Andrew
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Andrew Fryer said
Fiddlerman said
Here is some half inch polycarbonate tubing that would work. 18" or so would be wasted though. The price is right if you have Amazon Prime.I think you forgot a link, there @Fiddlerman
Right you are Andrew. Sorry!
psc=1
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
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@Fiddlerman
Not bad - 24" is just about long enough for one tube: I measured a set of strings and the longest in the set was 23", although other makes may be longer. I've been cutting my 90cm tubes down to 26" just to be on the safe side.
Today I was looking at your gel pads and wondering about buying one and a couple of cakes of Holstein premium rosin, but with $22 shipping, it works out expensive. Maybe in a couple of years I'll buy that 5-string fiddle outfit and some extras.
Andrew
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Perfect then. And who cares if they have to have the string be a little curled up right? It's mainly to keep it airtight anyway.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Andrew Fryer said
@Fiddlerman
Today I was looking at your gel pads and wondering about buying one and a couple of cakes of Holstein premium rosin, but with $22 shipping, it works out expensive. Maybe in a couple of years I'll buy that 5-string fiddle outfit and some extras.
We can adjust the shipping. The shipping system is not a perfect system. It's hard to know in advance how much we will be paying. The box size and weight determine the price. What we normally do is refund the customer the difference whenever that difference is substantial. Better that the customer gets a nice surprise after the fact.
However, one never knows what customs will want for duty charges. Some countries are great while others charge up to 30%.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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(summary) My violin outfit didn't come with a string tube, in spite of the product's photo showing one, so I bought some perspex tubing and made my own.
Here's a photo in which people might overlook a detail.
Is that string tube as stupid as I think it is, or am I missing a point?
Andrew
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Hi Andrew. I perceive how you fail to see the utility of a string tube. The first principle of reverse engineering is to study examples of the prior art. If you had done so, you would have found that a string tube runs the entire length of the case, similar to the bows. It appears that a cushion is blocking the extents of this distance on the upper portion of the lid. So the tube would more likely meet success if attached toward the hinges.
Success is the progressive realisation of a worthy ideal. —Earl Nightingale.
Honorary advisor
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It's only blocking on one side, the cushion could have been placed elsewhere or incorporated the length of a proper string tube to keep from folding the strings. This particular string tube has holes drilled all throughout the tube, allowing any moisture present into the tube the may be present instead of incorporating silica or a carbon filter into the design. A paper envelope would serve just as well the tube in the picture and I believe that is the point that Andrew is making. The string tube in question is a waste of space.
Regulars
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The point I was making was, that string tube is only a foot long, and the strings have to be doubled up twice to fit in it, which really defeats the object.
Andrew
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Truth is that many people never ever use their string tubes. There is no sense in having a tube which is shorter than the length of the strings Andrew.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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Just me thinking out loud it looks more like a humidifier with the insides missing than a string tube to me with the holes in it.
Mark
Master the Frog and you have mastered the bow.
Albert Sammons
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I see it now - initially all I could see was what I thought were loop ends on strings. Their regular positioning was always suspicious, but I didn't twig.
Then I saw the holes on the underside of the tube. Then finally I could see that those were holes, not loop ends so it was a humidifier all along.
And enough people are offering reasons why string tubes are unnecessary (the paper packets are coated with something that slows down tarnishing), so it seems they are useless. (however, in the UK a humidifier is just as useless). My teacher said she had a string tube for viola strings, but she didn't say what she thought of it. I'll ask her.
Andrew
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My viola case came with a built-in string tube attached near the hinges. I've never used it, not even for emergency backup strings.
Whenever I change my strings, I keep my old set of strings as a pre-stretched emergency backup set. I put those strings in the empty envelopes that the new strings came in, and write "USED" and the date of the string change on the envelopes. I suppose a string tube could keep those strings from deteriorating, but it really doesn't matter to me because those emergency backup strings only have to stay usable for the 6 months before my next string change; and putting the strings in the envelopes gives me something to write the date on.
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Just looked at the case photo and yes, I agree, it's more like a humidifier with the sponge missing.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
Regulars
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This is my violin, however, and that string tube was not supplied, lol!
https://stentoruk.s3.amazonaws.....1560A1.JPG
Actually, small complaint. A lot of photos show fiddles with that eggshell/matt-silk finish (some of fiddlershop's do), but mine was high gloss. It's a little bit misleading. I'll go to Oxford somewhen and look at their Strad for comparison, lol!
Andrew
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It's actually very hard to take pictures of a violin without a lot of glare. We try to choose pictures without a glare which can make them look mat. I think, for the most part, our pictures are fairly accurate.
"The richest person is not the one who has the most,
but the one who needs the least."
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