I decided to change the 'G' string for a low one, and I had a go with Aquila Red strings. These are doped with a metal which means I should be able to use a unwound string.
I adjusted the bridge and nut grooves, fitted the new string, tuned it up and TWANG; it broke. I blamed a sharp edge on the nut and gave it a further smoothing with 800 grit paper. I tried a new string and TWANG; another breakage.
For my third attempt, I tuned it up, and stretched it very slowly (over a couple of hours), and kept it warm. It made it to F# before TWANG.
I think that my long scale length (51cm) means that the tension s too much for these strings, so finally I fitted a wound low G (again from Aquila), and this has tuned up fine and sounds very nice.
I now have to do a little work on the 6th fret which is a tad too proud and gives a very slight buzz when fretting at the 5th.
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