Chiff and Fipple Forums

The joints on Pat McNulty pipes were made with O rings to seal the joints. These have always been a little problematic and I am planning to change to the more typical thread bindings. I believe that hemp thread, as on highland pipes is too heavy, but some cotton threads are too thin.
What threads do people recommend - brands, weights, material etc.

All very well for someone to suggest getting some special bio grown hemp from a sustainable source of X thickness bla bla bla ... I use cotton/polymide sewing thread, which is easily obtained . Usually I buy this in the form of overlocker cones. One cone of the colour desired would last a piper for the rest of their life. Ok is is usually quite thin at .004" ( 0.1mm) but can also be found a little thicker for sewing jeans material , as much as .015"( 0.4mm).
There is a lot of winding needed with the thinner thread but you'll only need to do this once ... I have done this over 200 times! The small diameter thread allows for fine fit adjustment especially on drone slides.

I like to use a rub of beeswax on the wood to help the first windings stick to it, after that I prefer white candle wax or Preserving wax , both readily available, to consolidate the binding.

Of course the clearances between parts on your McNulty set may be larger to allow for the O rings .

Thanks Geoff. I wasn't after niche stuff, more whether a pure cotton versus cotton blended with a man made fibre was preferred, and thoughts on thickness. With regard to the clearances on my set I would say they are quite small apart from the groove for the O ring. What they lack is any recessed / combed area for mounting the binding so waxing to give something to bind to is going to be important, and something I hadn't considered.

Hello Ian,
after many years of quarreling, I tried a lot to find a material that retaines the spring effect. I've tried many different materials, even sheep's wool. This was the best after trying hemp, cotton each with bees wax and teflon tape before finally finding the only material that made sense: cork. I glue it on in a thin layer and sand it down to the right diameter. Perfect for me.

If you need a thread that's more resistant to wear or fraying, search for "core spun button thread". It's a heavier weight and used where there might be sharp edges, e.g. for attaching metal buttons. It's often made of cotton spun around a polyester core, so it has a less shiny look than pure polyester. [Sewing Ed.]