Posted on April 23, 2026April 23, 2026 by Dale Phillips It Worked for Me: Secure Classical Guitar Strings It Worked for Me: Secure Classical Guitar Strings by Michael Grossman Originally published in American Lutherie #109, 2012 There has to be a better way to secure your classical guitar strings, but nylon strings with ball ends are not commonly available. I’ve seen 6-, 12-, and 18-hole tieblocks, strings with beads or sticks tied on the ends. It occurred to me that with a single set of holes, vertically elongated, you can pass the strings through the hole, through a bead, and then back into the same hole. As the string is tightened, the bead is snugged against the tieblock (a small recess for it to settle into helps), trapping the short end of the string inside the hole. No unsightly ends sticking out, no knots, no strings wrapped around the block or around themselves. Photo by Michael Grossman. Two small caveats: make the tieblock (if that’s still the appropriate term) out of ebony or something equally strong, and enlarge the holes vertically, not horizontally. My first attempt, in bloodwood, ripped apart along the line of the holes. ◆
