DIY Cable: Cotton


Okay, so I've mulls over creating own cables but, for the time being, I probably won't. However, I'd like to accumulate some information. One of the things I have read recently is that cotton makes a good insulator/shield for cabling (dialectic?). I've seen this on speaker cables, but not interconnects. Why? Or have I just missed those?

Secondly, has anyone ever experimented with a way to 'add' a cotton insulation to a run of wire if it didn't have one already? I've considered getting take with a cotton fabric backing, but my guess is that either attacking it directly to the wires (rather than free floating) or adding an adhesive are both likely to be bad ideas. Otoh, what the hell do I know.... That's why I'm here! :)

Thanks! Aaron
aewhistory
You can use cotton shoestrings and fish the wire through [they are hollow]If you are making speaker cables,you can buy the string in bulk.Sorry,I don't know a company name ofhand,but if you Google "bulk shoestring" you'll find several.Good luck with your project!
Well, if you are using copper, then the cotton will not seal it against oxidation. Loose fitting cotton on a conductor will probably sound great, but as it ages, the tarnish will adversely affect the sound. Silver, now that may be a different story. I bought some cotton coated silver for upcoming projects because I too believe in theory that it will sound good. I have not yet used it. I had a Lindsay-Geyer interconnect with silk wrapped conductors which sounded great. However, it used a Mu metal wire that does not tarnish.
There are some cable makers who believe natural fibers,paper,cotton,silk etc. make the best dielectrics as compared to synthetics.
Regards,
Six years ago I wrote a post here regarding using cotton on a DIY interconnect http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?rcabl&1150905409

I have been building them for people ever since. Cotton makes an excellent dielectric and absorbs micro vibrations, it is excellent.

JD
Jade Audio, LLC