Replacement tubing on guitar stands...

[Armitage]

I've got a lot of guitar stands and the rubber (I'll call it that for now) has started to break down. It's funny, it looks like a drop of water where the rubber meets... but it isn't water, others have dried and cracked to shards. I've read that some people recommend surgical tubing, well... not with nitrocellulose lacquer... (poly might not care), the same with fish tank tubing (I did that once, never again). There has to be some kind of available foam to replace the original stuff, something finish safe.

Otherwise, I need to buy bulk guitar stands again...

[Thundersteel]

I've tried, and failed, to find a suitable replacement (except for cotton socks/T-shirts). I finally tossed my stand in the garbage.

[velorush]

Never thought about this since I El Duave hooked me up with those fantastic Hercules stands, but what about something like this?

It's cotton, so it shouldn't react with nitro finishes.

 

[murkat]

https://www.google.com/search?q=eva+tubing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=eva+foam+tubing

[cynic]

1 hour ago, velorush said:

It's cotton, so it shouldn't react with nitro finishes.

Given the number of retired Sailors we have around here, you should not have been the one to come up with this idea....but dammit, it's a good one!  I'm going to try it.

[LittleC]

3 minutes ago, cynic said:

Given the number of retired Sailors we have around here, you should not have been the one to come up with this idea....but dammit, it's a good one!  I'm going to try it.

Wow, now that's some fancy freakin' knot.  Pray tell how to do that.  My stands can use a little help, too you know.

P.S.: Note to self - replace rope before the woman reaches for it and notices it missing.  

[Bloozguy]

1 hour ago, murkat said:

https://www.google.com/search?q=eva+tubing&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8#q=eva+foam+tubing

EVA (Ethylene-vinyl acetate) is the black foam that Hercules and Ultimate support use on their stands and it appears to be safe for nitro finishes.

Lots of high tech options have become available in the decades since they started using that amber surgical tubing or clear PVC tubing on guitar stands.

[hamerhead]

Going with the cotton idea - you could get 1/2" hollow cotton rope and slide it over the existing rubber (like a sock, but less.......socky).

Or cut the fingers off some cheap cotton gloves. Sell what's left to texters and make money.

[Greg G]

On 10/14/2016 at 4:45 PM, LittleC said:

Wow, now that's some fancy freakin' knot.  Pray tell how to do that.  My stands can use a little help, too you know.

P.S.: Note to self - replace rope before the woman reaches for it and notices it missing.  

The knot in the middle is called a turk's head.  Back in the day I tied quite a few of them.  Above and below it are just bunches of half hitches.

[Dave Scepter]

On 10/15/2016 at 6:16 AM, hamerhead said:

Sell what's left to texters and make money.

Hahahahahahaha!.. ... please sir can I have sum moer?.. "said in my best Oliver Twist voice "

[tbonesullivan]

+1 on the EVA foam. It is easy to find, and you can get it in a bunch of different styles.

[ptm1diver]

Has anyone experienced the rubber on the Hercules stands getting sticky and coming off on your hands?    I have 4 of there stands with this problem.    I have 2 pens that must be made out of the same rubber compound that have started decomp and become sticky also.   

 

This message will either self destruct or be deleted by the moderators.   

 

A luthier friend of mine uses natural leather wraps on his guitar hangers.   

[Armitage]

The big problem is the chemicals burning into your guitar... nitro hates that stuff...

[murkat]

On 10/18/2016 at 0:31 PM, ptm1diver said:

Has anyone experienced the rubber on the Hercules stands getting sticky and coming off on your hands?

Yes, my large tripod standing Herc's adjusting handles have gone gummy.

I have have removed the rubber adjustment handle thingy and hard screwed the height adjustment to a fixed height.

[JohnnyB]

On 10/18/2016 at 4:40 PM, Armitage said:

The big problem is the chemicals burning into your guitar... nitro hates that stuff...

In Dec. 1997 I found a 1986 (Leo era) G&L Lynx bass in near pristine condition, hanging from a wall hanger in a pawn shop. The hanger's tines were sheathed in latex surgical tubing. The price was very right but I was out of work, so had to walk out empty-handed. Soon, though, I had a job again and a few months later I returned to the shop and the bass was still there. I bought it on the spot. I got a fantastic deal and the bass was still in great shape, but by then the latex had eaten through the finish where the the headstock was padded by the latex.

Wasn't enough damage to kill the deal ($280), but it sure showed what the latex could do in a few months.

Best news is that nineteen years later I still have the bass.