Nelson String Clock  

Hey guys,
I just got a Nelson String Clock (first Nelson clock!) and I'm re-stringing it. The guy before me re-strung it and did a shite job of it. So anyway, I'm wondering if anybody out there has a Nelson String Clock with the original string. When I removed the face of the clock to restring it (with string that I've since determined is too thin), I noticed that there were remnants of the original string stuck in the grooves. Apparently the (white) string was covered in (black) rubber (at least near the grooves). So were the strings rubber covered all the way out (this doesn't seem likely to me, since so many of them have broken strings). Thanks,
Brian