Today, I made my first attempt to bubble with a 36-inch tri-string wand made from jute twine. While the fiber has promise, this loop had a strong tendency to twist on itself. I will need to figure a way to defeat this tendency to twist on itself. ... later the same day ... I soaked the loop to clean it and then untied one corner of the loop. To remove the twisting, I held it by one corner and pinched the cord between my fingers and ran them down the cord which caused the cord to spin and untwist. I did this a couple of times and the loop is no longer twisting on itself when removed from the bubble juice after being dipped.
NOTE (added Jan. 30, 2011): The loop no longer twists on itself and after a few more sessions it feels much softer than it did at first.
36-inch top-string loop of a single strand of jute twine. The lines in the cement are 10 feet apart
Now, I need the rain to let up so that I can try using it again.
[January 30, 2011 Addition]
The other day, I tried the jute out again during a session that I recorded with a cheap video recorder. I was testing out some other loops. At the time, my impression was that it was a bit temperamental and was not up to par with the other loops. However, when I watched the video tapes, I saw that this single strand of twine was creating bubbles as long or longer than any of the 4 other materials tested during the session -- and the only loops that rivaled it were made of materials that were heavier/thicker. This loop easily created tubes at least 30 feet long. This loop has no washer or other weight -- it doesn't need it -- it gets quite heavy with solution. It does seem to be pretty thirsty, but I need to come up with a way of seeing if that extra juice is ending up in the bubble -- it seems like it might.
[Feb. 2, 2011]
3/16" Lehigh cord, jute twine, and cotton cooking twine
[Added Feb. 9, 2011] Jute is seeming more and more promising. A single strand of jute is performing comparably to much heavier wand materials as noted here.
Here is some video (no attempt was being made to close bubbles for the most part -- I was mostly seeing how big the tubes would get before breaking with this 32-inch top-string loop).
I am also curious about hemp twine which may have similar qualities and might be even friendlier.
Jute twine definitely needs some conditioning before it works for a wand. The first time it gets wet, it twists up on itself. But one can get the twists out permanently. After a few uses the twine softens and doesn't seem so bristly. this is also the cheapest material that I have encountered.
I'll be making a two-strand rope soon.
[FEB. 11, 2011 UPDATE]
TIPS FOR USING JUTE TWINE:
- It is best to cut the string for the loop and soak it in water (or water plus a little dish detergent) before tying the loop together. When you remove it from the water, hold it high by one end with one hand and use your other hand to pinch the twine between thumb and a finger and run it down the length of the twine. Do this a few times and then put the loop together -- making sure not to twist the strings again when tying the loop. This seems to remove the tendency to twist on itself (my loop doesn't twist on itself at all)
- It seems like my jute loop got dramatically better after several uses. The material seems to have become software and it also seems to have shed a lot of the extraneous fibers that make jute feel fuzzy/scratchy and which tend to foam up the bubble juice when new jute twine is first used.
[A two-strand rope] I made a twisted cord from two-strands of this jute twine. I have only used it once but that one time went very poorly. The loop is very drippy and gets very very heavy with solution in a way that seems very wasteful and worst of all, the bubble film often broken as the wand was opened. It seems like this loop creates a lot of foam when it goes into and comes out of the bubble juice.
I will continue using it and see if this improves as the fiber softens and sheds the extraneous fuzzy fibers. I have also found that (at least the twine that I am using) is so absorbent that even a two-strand rope is too much. It gets very heavy, drippy and wasteful.
2011 03 05 Update (March 5, 2011)
Jute continues to have a lot of promise. It is seeming like the little fibers sticking out do tend to froth the mix more than other fibers. So, it is probably a good idea to periodically scrape the foam out of the bucket and wipe down the wand to remove the foam that adheres to the twine as these seem to cause weak spots in the film that lead to premature breakage.