Treble Wire Splicing

[Thomas D. Seay, III]

I usually don't splice treble wire (except for dire emergencies; i.e.,
forgot my stringing kit AGAIN!), but I did the other day on a small spinet.
During tuning, a size 14.5 wire broke at the tuning pin. This was one of
those pianos which requires the removal of the keys in order for the action
to clear. I had just replaced the action and keys after filing hammers,
easing keys, etc. and was in no mood to do it all over again, to say the
least.

I figure I saved at least 20 minutes by splicing, with the added advantage
of the string already having been stretched enough to stay in tune. One
hint: make your splice with the segments in front of the pressure bar and
then thread the leader wire under the pressure bar (if you have enough
room). It goes without saying (but I'll say it anyway for those who don't
know), never splice treble wire where the splice ends up in the speaking
length of the string.

BTW, I removed 88 Jiffy-Leads (count 'em) from the backs of the keys on
this piano. They were put there because someone didn't know (or care) that
the key bushings were tight and installed the leads to keep the fronts of
the keys up where they belong. You can only imagine how the action felt
with all the inertia (gasp, the "I" word) of the leads to overcome plus the
friction of the tight bushings as well. The only good thing about that
arrangement is that the upweight was good...

Regards,

Tom Seay
t.seay@mail.utexas.edu
The University of Texas at Austin