I hear the sounds of frustration...I save some of the clippings from a bass re-stringing just for tying bass strings. To have it break at the pin is what I usually wish for when it breaks at the agraffe...;-{ You should see and hear (no, forget that, it's to embarrassing) my 18 year old Kawai's at the Ballet. 10 hours a day and they won't replace them... David I. *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 2/14/01 at 3:32 PM harvey wrote: >That's the best I could do for a title. This begins simply, then gets >more complex. > >For the calculator/spreadsheet junkies: > >Piano: Yamaha CFIII concert grand >Question: What is a representative tension and/or shear value (as >seen by the tuning pin) on C1 (string #4)? I'm inclined to think >tensions build up pretty fast in those last few notes. Perhaps >185~225 lbs at the moment of the bend? > >Discussion: >Yesterday, before beginning to service this piano for a concert, I did >octave checks just to get the overall "lay of the land", considering >recent climate swings. I usually do A's, but for some reason, I >began with C1 this time. Although I did playing blows (not test >blows), C1 chose that moment to break. > >Except for practicing while watching TV, I'm not good with splices >in real-time. Regardless, I had no core wire that large to even >attempt a splice, so another piano was substituted. > >Since the break was at the pin instead of the agraffe, might I >correctly conclude that it was overpulled at some point, and that >my test just took it over the edge? If so, better then than during the >performance. Otherwise, the lowest section of this piano is >normally a "hard pull", enough to make me consider (but dismiss) >the idea that the strings are not rendering properly. > >The bigger issue: >This piano has been used (and unwillfully abused) in all sorts of >venues since 1987. It has performed admirably considering NO >budget or even routine maintenance has been done. Most concert >grands with a similar service record would have been rebuilt or at >least restrung/hammers by now. > >Unless something changes (budget considerations), I know this >piano is working on borrowed time. I also know that this incident, >coupled with other indicators, is a sign of things to come. > >IOW, I know what projections and recommendations to make, but >am keenly aware that the university will start crying the blues about >hard times and budget restraints. That leaves me... and reality. > >In summary, is anyone else having to use the band-aid service >approach on key instruments? In this instance, I can improve my in- >piano splicing abilities, somehow acquire lengths of HUGE core >wire, and so on. It's those other cliff-hanging surprises that concern >me. > >Jim Harvey > > >Jim Harvey >harvey@greenwood.net >Greenwood (n): the largest city in South Carolina WITHOUT an Interstate
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