Last week I ruined my first spring loop. I was trying to free up
a tight flange and heating it with my heat gun, I melted the cord. To
repair it, I simply drilled it out, and replaced it with french horn
string. Then glue and toothpick it. Other strings would suffice, I
just happened to have a roll of the cord.
As per doing the entire set and the piano needing restringing and
probably not being worth it, that is an issue most piano technicians go
through regularly. It's your decision when to 'walk off'.
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC