Bob Cleek

Another thing to keep in mind, when you spin your own rope, differences in machinery, set-up and conditions ( humidity, temperature ) an cause subtle differences, not necessarily negligible at scale.

so the polyesters are ok then. joanns has the mara and plenty polyester threads in several weights in a wide assortment of colors. 
 
thanks
paul
 
 

Ok everyone I finally found what I was looking for, wish it went down to 1/16" though but, I can live with this and the best part it is cheap!  Thank you all for your input.
Whiteside 9810 Brass Set Up Gauges, 5 Piece Set - Router Bits - Amazon.com

You can try to make your own stepped mandrels using square metal tubing.
 
McMaster-Carr has a wide assortment of metals and tubing sizes where each size slip fits into the next larger size. For example they have brass tubing stepped in 1/32 inch increments:
 
https://www.mcmaster.com/products/rectangular-tubing/material~260-brass/
 
By getting and assortment of sizes, slipping them inside each other and soldering them together you can make a square mandrel like you are looking for.

The Guterman linen thread seems to only be offered in No. 30 thickness and from their product description is a rather large thread used "for sewing heavy and strong fabrics such as leather and canvas tarpaulins."  It might possibly be suitable for ship models, but with only one size of thread, one would have a hard time getting much of a range of scale sizes out of it. It's also apparently out of stock at the moment, through Amazon, at least. See:  Linen thread from Gütermann creativ | Linen thread (guetermann.com) 
 
Hemp thread should be an interesting alternative to explore. I've read that hemp and flax (linen) fibers are virtually indistinguishable with hemp being preferred for rope making. There are various grades of thread, though, and any particular product will have to be examined for its suitability. Lower grades of linen thread, for example, can be "lumpy" and not of uniform diameter, which will not yield good rigging rope. 
 
I'm sorry if your "A" has a "P" in it at the moment, but it's only begun to ache.  You're almost certainly barking up the wrong tree if you are looking to buy thread in your local Joann's Fabrics or the equivalent home-sewing store. I'll try to give you the very basics and then a link to make your life much easier.  
 
Due to the unavailability of suitable linen thread on the world market, some highly respected European museum curators have given their blessing to the use of "microcore spun polyester" thread in ship model restoration work. For that reason alone, I wouldn't look any farther than that. Like everybody else, I've looked high and low on the internet for linen thread without success, at least as far as suitable size and quality for ship model rope making is concerned. The brand of thread now being recommended for making ship model rigging is "Gutermann Mara." That's just enough information to get you into real trouble because there are actually two sources for Gutermann Mara thread and they each sell different ranges of it. Stay with me now...
 
Because ship modelers rig small scale models with varying sizes, or "weights," of thread, as they're called in the trade, or spin varying sizes of thread into scale rope, where thread of different weights can be found. Retail home-sewing stores will only carry Gutermann Mara thread in a single weight and on spools to fit home sewing machines, and not in the whole range of thread weights we need to make ship model rigging cordage of varying scale sizes. Don't waste your time looking for it at Joann's or Beverley Fabrics. The Gutermann Mara thread we need in a wide range of sizes is sold to their industrial distributors by Gutermann's industrial division in cases of spools of a single color or wound on large "cones" of thread used on industrial sewing machines. Ship modelers have to buy their Gutermann Mara thread from Gutermann's industrial distributors which service commercial customers. It won't be found at a retail home-sewing and fabrics store. 
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
This is the "inside dope" from Gutermann's National Sales Manager on this end of the thread business:
 
The difference between Mara from the Retail segment of Gutermann compared to the Industrial segment of Gutermann

"Most fabric stores carry Gutermann Sew All which is a Mara thread and the most common size is Tex 30. Mara is a MicroCore Spun Polyester thread and Tex 30 is the most popular Tex size sold in the home-sewing market.

The spool sizes are smaller, have a different 'weight' per cone and are more suited to domestic machines.

Mara from the Industrial division is the same thread construction, MicroCore Polyester, but the Industrial segment has Tex 19, 25, 30, 40, 60, 100, 200 265 and 400. The spool is different, and the Tex sizes are produced for various fabric weights, stitch types and seaming requirements. The Industrial products are made for use on Industrial machines and often the cones will not run correctly on a domestic or home machine. Industrial Distributors are set up to service small manufacturers, designers, and workrooms who buy a variety of thread types and need a variety of colors - while the Industrial Division of Gutermann sells only by the box of a color or in larger cone sizes compared to the Retail Division.

In some cases there are similar products available from both divisions but in general, the Industrial Division is supplying the manufacturing segment of the business."
 
Difference Between Gutermann and Mara Thread sewing discussion topic @ PatternReview.com
 
+++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
 
The thread industry uses a rather confusing system of different thread sizing systems to designate the size of their thread. Some even use one sizing system for natural fiber thread sizing and another system for sizing synthetic fiber thread. Gutermann uses one of the more common thread sizing systems, so as long as you are buying Gutermann thread, the "Tex" system is the only one you need to worry about. Just remember, the higher the Tex number, the thicker the thread size. (Important! Don't confuse Gutermann's in-house "Mara product number" weight grading system with the Tex grading system! The Gutermann "Mara number" system is the reverse of the Tex system. The higher the "Mara product number," the lighter or thinner the thread.) 
 
 Fortunately for us, the Wawak Sewing Supply Company, in New Jersey, I believe, sells the entire range of standard colors and weights of Gutermann Mara poly wrapped poly core thread in eleven graduated thread "weights" (sizes) online. Their service is great and their prices reasonable. (Tip: order a range of thread weights at the same time, based on your desired size scale rigging cordage and pay only their one shipping charge per order.) See: Gutermann Mara 100 Poly Wrapped Poly Core Thread - Tex 30 - WAWAK Sewing Supplies
 
Review all the threads stored at Discussions about Rope Making - Model Ship World™ to find a "cookbook" full of specific "recipes" for spinning specific scale sizes of model ship cordage from specific sizes of thread as well as a collection of rope making "tricks of the trade." There will be instructions on the sizes of Gutermann Mara thread to buy, and a selection of Gutermann color code numbers for standing and running rigging. Everything you need to know is to be found in this MSW forum sub-topic. 
 
 
 
 
 
 

As mentioned, the museum curators who care for the finest museum models in Europe say that Gutermann Mara MicroCore Spun Polyester thread passed their tests for archival quality. Any decent quality spun polyester thread should be a reasonable choice if you are impatient, but the price of impatience could be the inability to get what you want in the colors and weights you want from a home-sewing store. As I mentioned, the home-sewing stores carry Tex 30 thead because it works the best in home sewing machines. 
 
If you don't mind waiting less than a week for your order to be sent from Wawak Sewing Supplies, you can get Gutermann Mara "industrial strength" thread from Wawak in any of the eleven sizes and God only knows how many colors to choose from online right now at https://www.wawak.com/thread/thread-by-use/all-purpose/gutermann-mara-100-poly-wrapped-poly-core-thread-tex-30/#sku=gtda000
 
You can use cotton as well, but it doesn't have the longevity of polyester. You can dye cotton rather easily. The synthetics are another story on that score. It's best to get synthetics that were colored when the fibers were made. Stay away from nylon and any single strand "fishing line" sort of plastic stuff. 
 
 
 

No trouble. Google is my friend.  Whenever I look up something like that, I always learn something new along the way, so whatever time I spend is time well spent.
 
Have you considered simply using some square metal bar stock, AKA "key stock?" It comes in many dimensions and types of metal and it shouldn't be  expensive if you go to a local machine shop and ask them to cut you six or eight inches of whatever size you want off of some they should have in stock. They might even let you just scrounge through their off-cuts scrap bin for a few bucks worth. All you'd have to do then was to fashion a handle for them or even just dip one end in some of that "dip and grip" plastic handle coating stuff. 

I have never seen "square mandrels" like those. It would seem that anyone requiring one would simply cut a stick of wood if they needed one or use a pliers suitable for bending the shape if need be. The mandrels pictured are somewhat odd, as well. They are probably intended for use by jewelry makers, but jeweler's or orthodontist's wire-forming pliers pliers are far more useful tools for ship modeling.
 
Wire rings are easily formed in exact sizes by wrapping the wire around the smooth end of a suitably-sized drill bit. A standard set of drill bits will provide a wide range of sizes. After wrapping around the shaft of the bit, the wire can be cut free with a diagonal cutting pliers and slid off the bit shaft. 
 
Jeweler's wire forming pliers are made in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles and are quite reasonably priced. They can be found on eBay and in jewelry supply house and orthodontic instrument catalogs. See: Amazon.com : forming pliers
 
         
 
 
 

Aside from a few exceptions such as Byrnes Model Machines, Syren "Rope Rocket" and Domanoff's rope-making machines, Sherline and Taig mini lathes and mini milling machines, which are probably the best of their type available, you will generally find that tools made for sale to the "home hobbyist" can often cost more for a much lower quality product than the same tool purchased from a source catering to a professional clientele in an allied craft or trade. For example, the Foredom flex-shaft rotary tools or any of the slow, belt driven dental engines (now used for fabricating dental appliances in dental labs and not for drilling teeth, thank God!) and their handpieces will do a much better job than under-powered high-speed / low-torque Dremel or Proxxon Mototools and the like. I don't suppose Proxxon tools are substandard for what they are and they do have their fans (particularly in parts of the world where nothing else is available,) but they frequently strike me as being overly specialized in some instances and "more sizzle than steak." (Who needs a 1/4" hand held belt sander?) 
 
Lathes and milling machines are a separate category, but one should be aware that "hobby" retailers such as MicroMark, Model Expo, and Proxxon will frequently sell much higher priced "house branded" versions of tools which can be obtained from other sources at lower prices. The Chinese manufacture identical power tools such as mini lathes, mini milling machines, and rotary tools, etc., and wholesale these at varying prices based on the degree of fit, finish, and quality control, providing their wholesale customers with custom paint colors and branding. Grizzly is one US retailer that sells higher quality Chinese-built power tools at a somewhat higher price than the same tool will sell for at "Horror Fright," but the Grizzly tool will have a better fit and finish and have been fettled, tuned, and tested, while the Harbor Freight version will quite possibly have casting sand in the cosmoline grease it was coated in before it was shipped in from China.  It's best to do what research you can on YouTube watching "unboxing" and "review" videos before you pull the pin and buy any Chinese made power tool. The bottom line is that you will not go too far wrong keeping in mind that "you get what you pay for." 
 
You will almost certainly find that the highest quality tools will be found in the professional suppliers' catalogs for the various trades and professions. For example, look for hand tools in commercial jewelry supply house catalogs and medical instrument supply house catalogs. Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to spend too much in the professional catalogs. A lower quality Pakistani surgical or dental instrument will often be entirely adequate for modeling work, while the same instrument made by a top of the line US or European manufacturer may exceed the quality requirements of a ship modeler. 

No trouble. Google is my friend.  Whenever I look up something like that, I always learn something new along the way, so whatever time I spend is time well spent.
 
Have you considered simply using some square metal bar stock, AKA "key stock?" It comes in many dimensions and types of metal and it shouldn't be  expensive if you go to a local machine shop and ask them to cut you six or eight inches of whatever size you want off of some they should have in stock. They might even let you just scrounge through their off-cuts scrap bin for a few bucks worth. All you'd have to do then was to fashion a handle for them or even just dip one end in some of that "dip and grip" plastic handle coating stuff. 

Good idea. I'll ask around. I haven't thought of keyway stock material, thanks.    I did post a new link to show exactly what I am looking in size range but square not round.

Being that a machinist's lathe is about the most versatile machine there is, there's a tremendous amount that can be learned about operating one. As a self-teaching lathe operator who has only scratched the surface of what can be known, the best advice anyone ever gave me about leaning to run my 12" Atlas-Craftsman lathe was to get a copy of The Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables published by the Atlas Press Co., maker of the Atlas-Craftsman lathes. It is not only specific to the Atlas-Craftsman lathes, but to all machinist's lathes in general and has all the information one could need. Fortunately, the 23rd Edition (which I think was the last) published in 1967 is available as a free PDF download from VintageMachinery.org. See: Atlas Press Co. - Publication Reprints - Manual of Lathe Operation & Machinists Tables (MOLO) 23rd Edition | VintageMachinery.org  Just below the lower left hand corner of th picture of the front of the book ("Publication Preview") is a link: "View PDF" in blue printing. Click on that and the whole book should come up on your screen. It may take a few seconds because it's a long 273 page download. Scroll down to read it. 
 
There are also some excellent U.S. military training manuals which are available as free PDF's you can google up. I found those very helpful because the military does an excellent job of teaching the average idiot like me who knows nothing about a subject how to do highly technical things. 

No trouble. Google is my friend.  Whenever I look up something like that, I always learn something new along the way, so whatever time I spend is time well spent.
 
Have you considered simply using some square metal bar stock, AKA "key stock?" It comes in many dimensions and types of metal and it shouldn't be  expensive if you go to a local machine shop and ask them to cut you six or eight inches of whatever size you want off of some they should have in stock. They might even let you just scrounge through their off-cuts scrap bin for a few bucks worth. All you'd have to do then was to fashion a handle for them or even just dip one end in some of that "dip and grip" plastic handle coating stuff. 

I have never seen "square mandrels" like those. It would seem that anyone requiring one would simply cut a stick of wood if they needed one or use a pliers suitable for bending the shape if need be. The mandrels pictured are somewhat odd, as well. They are probably intended for use by jewelry makers, but jeweler's or orthodontist's wire-forming pliers pliers are far more useful tools for ship modeling.
 
Wire rings are easily formed in exact sizes by wrapping the wire around the smooth end of a suitably-sized drill bit. A standard set of drill bits will provide a wide range of sizes. After wrapping around the shaft of the bit, the wire can be cut free with a diagonal cutting pliers and slid off the bit shaft. 
 
Jeweler's wire forming pliers are made in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles and are quite reasonably priced. They can be found on eBay and in jewelry supply house and orthodontic instrument catalogs. See: Amazon.com : forming pliers
 
         
 
 
 

Aside from a few exceptions such as Byrnes Model Machines, Syren "Rope Rocket" and Domanoff's rope-making machines, Sherline and Taig mini lathes and mini milling machines, which are probably the best of their type available, you will generally find that tools made for sale to the "home hobbyist" can often cost more for a much lower quality product than the same tool purchased from a source catering to a professional clientele in an allied craft or trade. For example, the Foredom flex-shaft rotary tools or any of the slow, belt driven dental engines (now used for fabricating dental appliances in dental labs and not for drilling teeth, thank God!) and their handpieces will do a much better job than under-powered high-speed / low-torque Dremel or Proxxon Mototools and the like. I don't suppose Proxxon tools are substandard for what they are and they do have their fans (particularly in parts of the world where nothing else is available,) but they frequently strike me as being overly specialized in some instances and "more sizzle than steak." (Who needs a 1/4" hand held belt sander?) 
 
Lathes and milling machines are a separate category, but one should be aware that "hobby" retailers such as MicroMark, Model Expo, and Proxxon will frequently sell much higher priced "house branded" versions of tools which can be obtained from other sources at lower prices. The Chinese manufacture identical power tools such as mini lathes, mini milling machines, and rotary tools, etc., and wholesale these at varying prices based on the degree of fit, finish, and quality control, providing their wholesale customers with custom paint colors and branding. Grizzly is one US retailer that sells higher quality Chinese-built power tools at a somewhat higher price than the same tool will sell for at "Horror Fright," but the Grizzly tool will have a better fit and finish and have been fettled, tuned, and tested, while the Harbor Freight version will quite possibly have casting sand in the cosmoline grease it was coated in before it was shipped in from China.  It's best to do what research you can on YouTube watching "unboxing" and "review" videos before you pull the pin and buy any Chinese made power tool. The bottom line is that you will not go too far wrong keeping in mind that "you get what you pay for." 
 
You will almost certainly find that the highest quality tools will be found in the professional suppliers' catalogs for the various trades and professions. For example, look for hand tools in commercial jewelry supply house catalogs and medical instrument supply house catalogs. Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to spend too much in the professional catalogs. A lower quality Pakistani surgical or dental instrument will often be entirely adequate for modeling work, while the same instrument made by a top of the line US or European manufacturer may exceed the quality requirements of a ship modeler. 

Current post on the Model Machines website:
 
We are in the process of personal and corporate recovery after the loss of Jim ...
We will not be accepting orders for machines until further notice, but you may still order accessories. We need to complete an inventory and business reorganization, which we hope to accomplish in the next few weeks.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support ...
Donna Byrnes
 
Word on the MSW forum also reported a conversation with Donna Byrnes confirming they would be back to filling orders shortly. Keep an eye on their website for a formal announcement. 

The rigging tables in old books, contracts, ad plan margins are rope circumferences.  It was easier to measure than diameter.  Rope will crush, so even if they had developed a standard caliper, the diameter measurement would be ambiguous.
We live by diameter, so pi is our friend when converting to what is needed for a model.
 
Diameter is easy to determine at model scale.   A dowel is all that is needed.  A fat one works fairly easy.  Place two marks around the dowel that are 1 inch apart. A tight coil of the rope between the two marks.  Count the number of revolutions.   That is the diameter.  
Internally consistent in your shop is best, so measure everything yourself.  This is how you get the gauge for commercial thread.
 
For linen -  go to Etsy  - enter "linen yarn"  cones  and be prepared for frustration.  Not many want what we are after, so our stuff is at the bottom of a few thousand cycling offers.
Irish or Belgian would have better QA, but I suspect that neither have the slave labor needed for economical processing. 
The Asian producers who have the low cost labor, seem to want to sell in shipping container size lots - if the size of what they are selling can be deciphered.
Be aware that 16/2  is two 16 #   not  two smaller yarns that twist up to be 16.
The larger the number, the smaller the yarn.   When twisting up three yarns,  #40 by Lea is #24 by Nm  and these will make stay size rope  For running rigging - the larger number "unicorns" are the target.
Look up "rope walk" here.
 
If you had the acreage,  if you could find linen seed for varieties that have small diameter, long fibers in the stem,  if the weather does not bring rain when it will rot the cut and field fermenting plants,  getting the stems into the needed fibers and then yarn is a complex and finesse sort of operation that wants years of experience taught by older generations stretching back to infinity.
 
gauge -  old link  not looking  to see if it still is there:  info@baltic-flax.com
 
I suspect that hemp fibers are too thick.  I am not sure that I have seen much hemp cloth.  Investigate and experiment and report.
 
old links:
https://store.vavstuga.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=CTGY&Category_code=yarns-linen-lace
 
https://www.yarn.com/categories/linen-weaving-yarn
 
https://www.threadneedlestreet.com/       look for LONDONDERRY LINEN THREAD
 
 
 

twine may be too heavy but we are on the right track with gutterman waxed linen. i was at joanns today looking for it but no dice. they do carry hemp thread in a light tan. anyone try that before?
 
so i saw a wide variety of silk, cotton and polyester... no linens. if you were limited to those, which would be better? 
 
oh and is there a standard gage for these threads? i dont see any indications on the spools.
 
this part of rigging is a real pita. the actual work is fun. 

Thanks for the reply and time you took to look all that up. I had already searched all those prior to posting though. Maybe I should have said that in my OP. If I can't find any I may just take those round ones to a file. Maybe I can spin my want into a need to convince my wife on a mini mill purchase. lol 
 
Edit: I use the round ones for Metal Earth kits and want some square ones to add to my collection of tools.

I have never seen "square mandrels" like those. It would seem that anyone requiring one would simply cut a stick of wood if they needed one or use a pliers suitable for bending the shape if need be. The mandrels pictured are somewhat odd, as well. They are probably intended for use by jewelry makers, but jeweler's or orthodontist's wire-forming pliers pliers are far more useful tools for ship modeling.
 
Wire rings are easily formed in exact sizes by wrapping the wire around the smooth end of a suitably-sized drill bit. A standard set of drill bits will provide a wide range of sizes. After wrapping around the shaft of the bit, the wire can be cut free with a diagonal cutting pliers and slid off the bit shaft. 
 
Jeweler's wire forming pliers are made in a variety of sizes, shapes, and styles and are quite reasonably priced. They can be found on eBay and in jewelry supply house and orthodontic instrument catalogs. See: Amazon.com : forming pliers
 
         
 
 
 

Aside from a few exceptions such as Byrnes Model Machines, Syren "Rope Rocket" and Domanoff's rope-making machines, Sherline and Taig mini lathes and mini milling machines, which are probably the best of their type available, you will generally find that tools made for sale to the "home hobbyist" can often cost more for a much lower quality product than the same tool purchased from a source catering to a professional clientele in an allied craft or trade. For example, the Foredom flex-shaft rotary tools or any of the slow, belt driven dental engines (now used for fabricating dental appliances in dental labs and not for drilling teeth, thank God!) and their handpieces will do a much better job than under-powered high-speed / low-torque Dremel or Proxxon Mototools and the like. I don't suppose Proxxon tools are substandard for what they are and they do have their fans (particularly in parts of the world where nothing else is available,) but they frequently strike me as being overly specialized in some instances and "more sizzle than steak." (Who needs a 1/4" hand held belt sander?) 
 
Lathes and milling machines are a separate category, but one should be aware that "hobby" retailers such as MicroMark, Model Expo, and Proxxon will frequently sell much higher priced "house branded" versions of tools which can be obtained from other sources at lower prices. The Chinese manufacture identical power tools such as mini lathes, mini milling machines, and rotary tools, etc., and wholesale these at varying prices based on the degree of fit, finish, and quality control, providing their wholesale customers with custom paint colors and branding. Grizzly is one US retailer that sells higher quality Chinese-built power tools at a somewhat higher price than the same tool will sell for at "Horror Fright," but the Grizzly tool will have a better fit and finish and have been fettled, tuned, and tested, while the Harbor Freight version will quite possibly have casting sand in the cosmoline grease it was coated in before it was shipped in from China.  It's best to do what research you can on YouTube watching "unboxing" and "review" videos before you pull the pin and buy any Chinese made power tool. The bottom line is that you will not go too far wrong keeping in mind that "you get what you pay for." 
 
You will almost certainly find that the highest quality tools will be found in the professional suppliers' catalogs for the various trades and professions. For example, look for hand tools in commercial jewelry supply house catalogs and medical instrument supply house catalogs. Keep in mind, however, that it is possible to spend too much in the professional catalogs. A lower quality Pakistani surgical or dental instrument will often be entirely adequate for modeling work, while the same instrument made by a top of the line US or European manufacturer may exceed the quality requirements of a ship modeler. 

Thanks for the history Bob, very very interesting.  Never put the pine tar on bats practice together with standing rigging coating practice, before.
Allan

Yes, it's the same stuff. While different grades of quality may still exist as in the olden days ("Stockholm" being "finestkind,") pine tar is still pine tar. It's readily available online and its primary modern-day uses are still as a wood and natural fiber rope preservative, especially in traditional maritime applications, as an ingredient in certain soaps, and in veterinary, and even human, medicine, as a topical antiseptic for the treatment of dermatological conditions. Notably, due to pine tar's long-lasting stickiness, it is also applied to wooden handles, baseball bats being a famous example, to improve a user's grip. I can't imagine anyone using it on a ship model, though. Aside from its agreeable aroma, it's a rather nasty, sticky substance of extremely dark brown color that gets all over everything and is slow to polymerize, so it stays sticky for a long while. The British sailors were called "tars" because they became covered with the icky stuff in the course of their shipboard duties. Critically, in the Age of Sail, pine tar was an essential naval store, access to which determined the effectiveness of European navies, and the Swedish crown's monopoly on the production of the largest quantity of the highest quality pine tar gave them advantageous leverage in European international relations until the British Admiralty discovered that the abundant pine forests of their American colony of North Carolina produced pine tar of equal or better quality than the "Stockholm tar" the Swedes made from their Baltic pines. Once British pine tar production ramped up in North Carolina, her residents became known as "Tar Heels," and have been ever since, because once you are around the stuff any amount of time, you will get it on your feet and track the stuff all over the place.  Applying thinned pine tar to your model ship rigging will probably give your model and anywhere it is displayed a highly authentic "yarr!" aroma for a good long while, but by the time it's finished both you and your model will likely be stained dark brown to black from stem to stern, just like its prototype was. 
 
 Pine tar on a baseball bat. 
 

From all recent reports, linen thread of sufficient quality for rigging line material has become extremely difficult to reliably source in recent times. There is reportedly some NOS (“new, old stock”) linen thread offered on eBay, but the size and quality are “catch as catch can.” Modelers currently using it are probably using “stashes” of linen thread they purchased ages ago. 
 
A Google search will provide a number of retailers offering linen thread, but much of what they are offering is specialty material, such as heavy pre-waxed thread for leather working or bookbinding. Other online retailers don’t indicate thread size. When just checking now, I was surprised to see that Guttermann offers a waxed linen thread. You may want to research what Guttermann has to offer in terms of linen thread in their line. See: https://www.amazon.com/Gutermann-Waxed-Strong-Sewing-Thread/dp/B019HRLE1A/ref=asc_df_B019HRLE1A&mcid=c6045ff257ee34edb6ad3599ab063d4d?tag=bingshoppinga-20&linkCode=df0&hvadid=80058380336600&hvnetw=o&hvqmt=e&hvbmt=be&hvdev=c&hvlocint=&hvlocphy=&hvtargid=pla-4583657849049970&psc=1&msclkid=998cf52caad914ea2e15909d34b77174 I expect that anyone who has a lead on where suitable linen thread can be purchased will share it in due course. 
 
Yes, shellac applied to thread will make the thread stiff once the alcohol solvent evaporates, which it does quickly. This is one of its main advantages when used as a rigging material. A drop will cement a knot and prevent its accidental untying when the “bitter end” is cut short. A bit of alcohol will soften it so a shellacked knot can be untied if necessary. When applied to a slack line or to a coil of line, the line can be formed as desired to shape the coil or form a catenary in a slack line. As the alcohol evaporates, the degree of stiffening increases, so it can be easily “worked” to a desired shape. We’re talking about applying thinned shellac of two or three pound cut (as it is diluted when sold premixed in cans.) Repeated applications of shellac on top of previous dried applications will build up a usually undesirable thick coating with a gloss finish. When only one or two applications of thinned shellac are applied, these will soak into the surface and be invisible when dry.

Current post on the Model Machines website:
 
We are in the process of personal and corporate recovery after the loss of Jim ...
We will not be accepting orders for machines until further notice, but you may still order accessories. We need to complete an inventory and business reorganization, which we hope to accomplish in the next few weeks.
Thank you for your understanding and continued support ...
Donna Byrnes
 
Word on the MSW forum also reported a conversation with Donna Byrnes confirming they would be back to filling orders shortly. Keep an eye on their website for a formal announcement.