Silk thread for bamboo wraps

[Orthoman]

I am taking a class to build a bamboo rod from a kit. Not expecting much out of the kit; however, I need to purchase thread to wrap the guides, etc. I know traditionally they were wrapped in silk which is fine but there are lots of silk threads available. The class info says to purchase the heavier type and avoid the thinner easier to break thin silk ---but don't tell what is considered heavy and what is light/thin.

The option is also to use nylon but would prefer to try silk.

Any quidance on the silk would be appreicated. How thick in "00" size ??? and how many spools would be needed to wrap a rod.

THank you

[Kaboom1]

Here is a chart I found a while back...it may help...

Brad

Silk comparison Chart

Here's a comparison of thread diameters I did several years ago, done by marking off a fixed distance on a 3/8" dowel and counting the number of wraps needed to fill the space.
Silk Wraps/0.5” Index
Gossamer 108 1.00
YLI #100 (3/0) 103 0.95
Naples 87 0.81
Rice 00 (old stock) 84 0.78
Belding Corticelli A 78 0.72
Tire #50 75 0.69
YLI #50 72 0.67
Pearsall's is less fuzzy than YLI or Tire, but they are not that bad and singeing takes care of it.
Here are two places for Tire and YLI:
http://www.silkthings.com/catalog.php?cat=007
http://www.roserushbrooke.com/for-fishermen/index.html

[stevekiley]

i use YLI on all my rods,anglers work shopes thread is yli,size 50 or 00 will work great for you,try the antigue gold with black tipping,steve

[cheffy]

I also use YLI and the kicker is that my local sewing shop carries a lot of the basic colors in stock.
one spool is more than enough for a rod. on average you can probably get 3 rods out of a spool.
i like chestnut brown w/ black or Garnet and black
If you only need one spool and it's a basic color let me know. I may have enough to spare and save you some on shipping.
another place to try is goldenwitch.com. problem with only getting one spool is you end up spending more on shipping than the thread.