UPDATE - .4mm PEEK wire FOUND!

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
Thanks to everyone for your replies and suggestions. I finally found a company in Germany that is
sending me 1,000 feet (a lifetime supply) at no charge. All they want is for me to pay the shipping costs.
My sincere thanks to the Monosuisse company for their generosity. The search is over.

There are little tiny springs in the action of a harpsichord. Traditionally, these were made using boar bristle which is very hard to find. The most used alternative is monofilament fishing line, but it's quite springy and it's quite difficult to
adjust the tension. Using .4mm PEEK wire was suggested to me, and I was able to purchase a small amount from Australia. It is, by far, the best product for my needs. However, most people have never heard of PEEK wire, and the
only sources I've been able to find want you to buy giant amounts that I couldn't use up in 10 lifetimes.

If anyone here knows what PEEK wire is and has a source for it, please let me know.
 
Last edited:

Oka

Casey
Corporate Member
Peek Wire = polyether-ether-ketone wire used often as a retainer wire in braces if it is the same stuff I am thinking of. Look online for a dental supply or orthodontic supplier. I am guessing you can buy a spool of it which would last probably 3-5 harpsichords........... OR ........... you can come to the Big Island, bring your gun and shoot a wild boar harvest the hair, dry it then use it, you could go that route .......... nah ..... :p

Yeah, the last harpsichord I build was 30 years ago and the leader monofilament we used was an issue, forgot about that.
 

tvrgeek

Scott
Corporate Member
I have still seen boar bristle in brushes.

Of course, we are in NC and surrounded by pig farms. Might find a raw source. If the Big Island is a bit far, I am sure Texas or Arkansas will gladly point you to a 900 Lb pasture destroying monster. But take a "real" gun. A 30-30 might just make one mad.
 

marinosr

Richard
Corporate Member
If the orthodontics angle doesn't pan out, very tiny PEEK tubing is used for chromatography in chemistry labs. (ID bores can be on the order of 50 micrometers, with OD around what you want... It's essentially a wire except for it's incredibly tiny bore). You could talk to Fisher Sccientifc to get some. You might be horrified by the price that normal items become when they are labeled "scientific" though. (E.g. I just paid 5x the spot price of platinum for some "scientific" platinum wire.)
 

Dee2

Board of Directors, Vice President
Gene
Staff member
Corporate Member
For dental supplies, check out Practicon in Greenville, NC. Family owned.
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
If we have the dimension correct - 0.4 mm (400 micron) then that's approaching human hair thickness. Not that I doubt the ideas presented here, and I am NOT familiar with dental practises, but do dentists really use 'wire' that thin?
 

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
If we have the dimension correct - 0.4 mm (400 micron) then that's approaching human hair thickness. Not that I doubt the ideas presented here, and I am NOT familiar with dental practises, but do dentists really use 'wire' that thin?
Yes, .4mm is correct. I checked with several dental supply houses and they didn't know what I was talking about. So I'm not sure if a wire this thin is used by dentists. Then again, I may not know the correct terminology to make clear what I'm looking for.
 

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
Braided fishing line has very little stretch.
It's not the stretch that is the problem. For my use, these springs are less than 1" long. Monofilament has too much shape memory and that makes adjusting the strength of the spring difficult. I don't know if braided fishing line has similar properties. I looked on the internet but there is no indication of any properties except for stretch.
 

Gofor

Mark
Corporate Member
Could you de-construct a boar bristle hair brush? Or possibly buy a boar hide? (assuming boar bristle would be preferable to the PEET wire).
 

Henry W

Henry
Corporate Member
There are brand names in play: Vitrex PEEK, Zyex, and Vestakeep.

Other instruments can use these as the 'sound' strings, but these are larger diameter than you are asking. Tennis racquet strings can usea compound filament strings, and PEEK filaments are in that mix. The issue I see is that none of are the diameter you seek, or even particularly close to it. Clearly it is produced in that size, you just need to find where that filament is used (in that size). I did a bit of searching but didn't find an obvious source of that size. All probably restating what you already know.

Is PEEK important (advantage I see is that it not particularly sensitive to humidity) - or do you suspect that other small diameter monofilament fibers may work too?
 

tarheelz

Dave
Corporate Member
PEEK is used to make braided tubing. Could you buy some of this stuff and deconstruct it?

 

Inarticulate

New User
Matt
I have some 0.3mm and 0.5mm hollow PEEK tubing if you want to give that a try. It's fairly readily available last I looked. If you want to give it a shot, PM your address and I'll send you some.

-Matt
 

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
Wow! I'm amazed that there were so many helpful responses to my post. I've looked into several suggestions already and will continue with the rest of them. The reason .4mm PEEK is used is that it gives exactly the right amount of tension to the spring. Most other products are far too strong or far too weak. PEEK also allows you to deform the curvature of the wire to adjust this tension without kinking and without springing back to its original shape. Since I know this wire exists, I'm sure it is produced for use by other industries. I need to find out which industries use PEEK in this size. I spoke to a builder in Europe who told me he found a source that sent him a large spool which has lasted him for years - and they didn't even charge him for it. They obviously sell this material in huge quantities and doesn't normally supply it in the small amounts that would be needed by harpsichord builders. I've written to this company but have not heard back from them. So...the search continues.

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions.
Ernie
 

gator

George
Corporate Member
Wow! I'm amazed that there were so many helpful responses to my post. I've looked into several suggestions already and will continue with the rest of them. The reason .4mm PEEK is used is that it gives exactly the right amount of tension to the spring. Most other products are far too strong or far too weak. PEEK also allows you to deform the curvature of the wire to adjust this tension without kinking and without springing back to its original shape. Since I know this wire exists, I'm sure it is produced for use by other industries. I need to find out which industries use PEEK in this size. I spoke to a builder in Europe who told me he found a source that sent him a large spool which has lasted him for years - and they didn't even charge him for it. They obviously sell this material in huge quantities and doesn't normally supply it in the small amounts that would be needed by harpsichord builders. I've written to this company but have not heard back from them. So...the search continues.

Thank you all for your responses and suggestions.
Ernie

Perhaps your friend in Europe could coil a few feet in an envelope and mail it to you.

George
 

ErnieM

Ernie
Corporate Member
Ernie,

I'm curious to know what part you use this for. Can you post a pic?
I hope you can see this. The first photo shows how the wire is mounted in the jack.
The second photo is a rear shot of the tongue installed. You can see the wire resting in a groove in the tongue, and the rear of the plectrum (the little part that plucks the string and makes the sound. When a note is played, the tongue swivels backwards when the plectrum plucks the string. The PEEK wire then pushes against the rear of the tongue and forces it to swivel back to its starting position.

001.jpg


004.jpg
 

KenOfCary

Ken
Staff member
Corporate Member
Very cool pics Ernie. When I saw the word wire, I was going to suggest onlinemetals.com but I guess this really doesn't have anything to do with metal wire. Hope you find what you're looking for.
 

drw

Donn
Corporate Member
Ernie, I have always read your posts with interest and fascination; I have also viewed your videos detailing the processes associated with harpsichord construction. While I have nothing to offer with regard to sourcing PEEK wire material, I continue to marvel at your craftsmanship.
 

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