"Brittle" strings

[MHoffman11@aol.com]

Hello Allen,

In a message dated 95-11-19 11:25:00 EST, you write:

>Most of my piano tuning is on older pianos that haven't been tuned for quite
>a few years.  It is common for these pianos to be 70-120 cents flat.
>
>I've encountered a problem with some of the strings.  They feel like they
>have become brittle and don't want to stretch.  Normally, strings have an
>elastic feel.  These strings feel hard.  Sometimes when I try to raise their
>pitch, they feel elastic for a few cents change and then become hard.
>Other times, they are hard right from the beginning.  Those that feel hard
>feel like I'm pulling on a rock.

I am often faced with old beaters, too, and can highly recommend you purchase
an impact tuning lever (mine's from Francis MeHaffey...Pacific Supply, I
believe).  With one of these babies, you are somewhat removed from that awful
"tight" feeling you describe, as the impact of the weight yanks the string
before you can say "this feels like it's going to break".  I used to worry
about the sttrrings being frozen in place and the wire being bad, etc., but
after getting used to this method, I'm fairly comfortable yanking up those
old relics to concert A.  You will break strings, just like you break strings
now.  It goes with the territory of old pianos.  Always explain the
dangers/costs to your customers in advance; then when the occasional bad
piano wire piano rears it's ugly head you are (somewhat) prepared.  It's
never any fun, though, is it?  Make sure you charge for the extra tension on
your body and soul.

I tried the WD-40 treatment a few times and decided that it was a waste of
time.  I've found that a quick, light "bounce" to the left (flat) with the
wrench accomplishes just as much and saves the time/mess of wd-40.  On a
really old, out of tune upright, I tune it four times (on the initial visit).
 The first pass I never add any sharpness above A440.  I know this may add
another pass to the job, but it's a psychological triumph to get all the
strings moved and not have any break.  The next pass I tune at about A441 or
A442, depending on how flat and how comfortable I am with the
piano/customer/universe.  Two passes will take me about 30 minutes.  The
third pass is where I began to listen to the musicality of my tuning and I
polish it off with a fourth time (usually skipping the bass section).  With
this wrench, you'll find yourself doing fast, quality work on really out of
tune pianos.  Time is money and this wrench will save you gobs of both.

I hope this helps.

Stay tuned!

Mike Hoffman, RPT
>With some of the strings, I've had success in raising their pitch by lowing
>the
>tension, raising it, lowing it, raising it, etc.  Other times, that sequence
>does
>not help.
>
>Am I correct in my interpretation that the strings are going brittle?
>Instead of
>that, could it be just high friction at the pressure/V bars?  Both?  Is
there
>a
>better technique than the changing of tension?
>
>What ever the cause of the problem, it is serious, because I've found that
>when the strings go hard, they will break if I apply any more torque.  Any
>comments about interpreting the "hardness" and about techniques to handle
>it will be appreciated!!
>
>/Allen Leigh
>allen@pengar.com
>a-leigh@risky.wcslc.edu
>
>
>
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>Date: Sun, 19 Nov 1995 09:23:47 -0700 (MST)
>From: Allen Leigh <allen@pengar.com>
>Subject: "Brittle" strings
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