Happy BIR Adventure time: Making a string ligature for clarinet

I've heard about making string ligatures so I tried making some on my own. The most helpful place to find information was http://forum.saxontheweb.net/showthread.php?75281-Make-Your-Own-Ligature

They say to use nylon thread (which I fully support) but I couldn't find any, so I ended up with a very stiff cotton type thread (commonly known here in Iceland as haggis/slaughter yarn).

What you need for this is:
1. String
2. Tape
3. The mouthpiece that the ligature will go on
4. A reed (preferably an old one if you have one)
5. Wax paper (sometimes used for baking)
6. Epoxy type glue
7. Something to mix the glue and paint with

This is the mouthpiece I need a ligature for. Bought it few days ago and forgot to buy a ligature, and since the music store is 500km/300miles away, I thought I should just try to make my own.

This mouthpiece doesn't have any convenient lines on it like my other one, so I compared and found out that the ligature should start at the line where the reed is cut, and the bottom shall be about half a centimeter (1/6th ish of an inch) from the bottom of the reed.

See that line in the reed? That's what I'm talking about. That's where the top of the ligature should be (maybe slightly below that).

Now, let's save our sanity and just tape the reed on, so it won't be slipping around.

Same goes for the wax paper.

I suggest putting the tape on top of the reed to hold the wax paper in place, where we won't put glue, I don't want to risk having the epoxy glue stick to the tape!

This is the thread I used. It's cotton so I was afraid it could stretch, but it's very stiff so I'm giving it a chance.

Let's start. I put the end up on top of the reed, will cut it away later, but I need to tuck it in so it will be less noticeable when I'm done weaving and gluing.

Starting to weave on top of the end, I think the extra space it provides when I'm done is all right.

Because it's hard to see where to stop, I put a tiny line with a sharpie.

Now, it's all looking nice. Remember to keep it fairly tight and leave no spaces between rounds. I think I went a bit too far, so stopping one round before the line would have been better.

Tying up the end, being careful to hold the thread so it won't become loose.

All tightened up! It's ready for the glue now.

This is the glue I used, you can get epoxy glue at most hardware stores (maybe some hobby stores). I taped together three toothpicks and used that to mix and paint the glue on with.

The epoxy before mixing. It smells pretty bad.

Putting the epoxy on. I found it was easier to put a big glob on there and just smear it around. I'm afraid I used a bit too much of it though, so I'll be more careful next time.

There! Notice that I did not put glue on top of the reed.

Putting some glue around the end, so I can just cut it off when it's dry.

Shiny!

Let it sit for about 15 minutes (just to be sure, and I wasn't really in a hurry either), and then I just slipped the wax paper with the ligature off my mouthpiece.

Now, there's tons of excess glue on this thing, so I must take care of that. It's pretty stiff, but still a bit flexible.

This is after I cut the end that went into the ligature, you can't really see it in this picture.

When taking off the excess glue, and it's hard to tell where there is glue left, just slip the ligature on the mouthpiece and it will be easier to spot.