List, Below is a forwarded message posted privately because he wasn't sure if it should be sent to the list. It's in response to my question about the hitch pin loops coming unwound. I believe there would be enough interest to go ahead and put it here. If you don't have to deal with harpsichords, delete now. >Date: Mon, 16 Sep 1996 14:41:22 +0000 >From: "Dr. C.D. Lindblom" <LINDBLOM@saturn.montclair.edu> >Subject: Harpsichord Wire >To: atodd@UH.EDU > >Mr. Todd, > Even though there have been several responses on >PIANOTECH to your question about harpsichord hitchipin loops >which slip, no one has mentioned the crux of the problem as it >appears to most harpsichord makers: when a hitchpin loop is wound, >the wire MUST form a double helix; if the loose end is simply wound >around the string coming from the tuning pin, the loop will never >be stable in the long run. Most makers finish off their loops with >two or three such windings, but the part of the loop which holds >the tension of the string is the double helix (where the wires >wind around each other). Since harpsichord wire is much softer >than piano wire, there is a real danger of making the double helix too >tight and bruising the wire -- in which case the string will >eventually break at the end of the hitchpin windings. If the double >helix is too loose, or if there is no double helix, the loop will be >unreliable (a frequent sign of this is that tightening the tuning pin >results in a slight LOWERING of pitch). > > Since John Phillips is a highly respected maker, the hitchpin >loops you describe must not be up to his normal standard. Quality >control isn't always perfect, and I'm sure if you contacted him >he would replace the strings which have slipped immediately and >without charge. > > This matter is discussed very thoroughly (with illustrations) >in Ed Kottick's excellent book "The Harpsichord Owner's Guide" >(University of North Carolina Press) on pages 79 through 89 in my >edition. Kottick also discusses how to deal with the (in)famous >tapered tuning pins which have no holes for the wire. His book is >a wonderful resource for anyone who works on harpsichords, and it >is now available in paperback for less than twenty dollars (our local >Borders bookstore stocks it). Hitchpin loops are also discussed in >the construction manuals supplied with the kits of both >Zuckermann Harpsichords and Hubbard Harpsichords, and there >seems to be complete agreement on the necessity for the double helix. > > If the above is unclear and you can't locate the Kottick book, >please e-mail me for further details. I would have posted this to >PIANOTECH, but wasn't sure if it would be of general interest there. >If you think it is, please feel free to forward it to the list. > > Regards, > > Dan Lindblom > >lindblom@saturn.montclair.edu _____________________________________ Avery Todd, RPT Moores School of Music University of Houston Houston, TX 77204-4893 713-743-3226 atodd@uh.edu _____________________________________
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