Counter-bearing drag

[Ron Nossaman]

>    1. How do bend your half rounds to conform to any required sweep?
>       Clamp in a form?

I use a chunk of maple with a V cut out, for an anvil. I lay 
the half round on the block on edge, and whack it in the gap 
of the V with a dead blow hammer. Reposition, and repeat as 
necessary until the half round is bent to your requirements. 
Low tech, granted, but my middle initial is "L".


>    2. Why brass? It is so soft, will get marred by the strings and
>       eventually tarnish?  

And how will the eventual marring and tarnish affect tone? I 
personally use brass because it's affordable, workable by my 
methods and machine capabilities, readily available, and 
exhibits a practically low coefficient of friction in contact 
with music wire. Cosmetics don't concern me in this instance, 
and potential tonal penalties so far remain undefined, unless 
you have something to offer along these lines. IOW, until you 
have a fix, is it broke?


>Why not anondized aluminum or titanium? If
>       it's a question of economics, shouldn't we at least plate the brass?

Why not indeed? Beats me, I haven' tried it. Let us know if 
the trouble and expense is audible in the finished product, 
and we'll decide.


> Thanks for any thoughts...
>  
> Jude Reveley, RPT

Such as they are, that's them. Hey Jude, howzit otherwise?
Ron N