Introduction: Guitar String Ring

By plus.google.com/1161686111068902
About: Musician, photography hobbyist, calligrapher, and former electrician. I also like to taste exotic and interesting beers on occasion. Life is too short to drink light beer.

Here's a fun use for guitar strings, aside from making music. I made my own wedding ring from a guitar string, but this was not my first attempt. I used several different sizes of guitar strings and tried a few different types of weaves until I finally settled on what I thought looked and felt best. I hope you can enjoy making your own.

Step 1: Items Needed

Materials needed:
  1. Guitar string, nickel wound type, typically used on electric guitar. I found that .024 or .026 sizes worked best for this type of knot.
  2. A rod, pipe, dowel close to the size you want to fit your finger. With my fat fingers being a size 12.5, I found a piece of 1/2 schedule 40 PVC pipe worked well.
  3. Masking tape, electrical tape, wire, rubber bands, or something to secure the starting end of your string to your dowel.
  4. Cyanoacrylate glue (super glue, Krazy glue)
  5. Needle and heavy thread.

Tools needed:

  1. Wire cutter, I prefer small diagonal cutter.
  2. Knife, scissors, or anything you can find to cut thread.

Optional items:

  1. Adult beverage

Items NOT needed:

  1. Lasers
  2. Arduino
  3. 3D printer
  4. CNC machine

Step 2: Getting Started

The first thing I did was to learn to tie a Spanish ring knot, which is the basis for my guitar string ring. There are a few VERY good tutorials on this subject, so I felt it best to show those tutorials rather than to attempt to explain it myself.

A pictorial version can be found here: http://www.paracordguild.com/tie-spanish-ring-knot-2-passes/

I recommend practicing tying this knot with paracord or something larger than guitar string to familiarize yourself with how this knot works.

Step 3: Start Weaving Guitar String

First you will need to secure the starting end of your string to your dowel. You can use tape, rubber bands, or in my case, I used a piece of wire threaded through the little retainer on one end of the string and a hole drilled in my pipe.

Follow the published tutorials until you have reached the first 3 wraps, resulting in a Turk's Head knot. Here is where you need to carefully tighten up your knot. Be very careful not to kink the wire. After the next two times around in the tutorial, your Spanish Ring knot will be complete... sort of. Once you are to this point, You will probably find it much easier to complete the rest by removing the ring from the dowel.

Now simply follow your original path keeping the string side-by-side to make a doubled Spanish Ring Knot.

Step 4: Finishing Your Ring

Clip both ends of your wire inside the ring so they overlap a little. Use a needle and thread to wrap all 3 wires (beginning wire, 2nd wrap, and ending wire) tightly. Use cyanoacrylate glue to secure the thread and let it dry.

Cut your threads close and wear proudly.

I hope you've enjoyed my very first instructable.