> From: arnold1@mindspring.com > Date: Fri, 1 Aug 1997 16:11:40 -0400 (EDT) > To: pianotech@ptg.org > Subject: Elementary String Leveling Questions > Reply-to: pianotech@ptg.org I typically don't yank up the string because I don't want to have to pull up the other ones cuz I went to high. The trick is how to tell if they are level. I can sometimes feel with my fingertips and tell if one is higher than the others in which case I bring up the other two. I have been experimenting with those old aluminum keybushing cauls and the hardwood ones also. I would set one (upside down...it is just the right size to sit on the unison) on the three strings and if level they would sit there. If the plane of the three strings was slanted i.e. left higher than middle which is higher than right, the caul would lean. If the middle was higher than the left and right the caul would be unstable in its rest and this visually easy to see. By lightly tapping the left string and then the right string and observing the movement of the caul I could often tell if the left or right was higher or lower. i.e. if the caul moved similarly with the two taps then the three strings might be level. If for instance the right was lower then the caul might move a little more with the right tap than the left. If one of them didn't move with the tap then it was lower than the middle and other string and the caul was resting on just two of the three strings.. Is this as clear as mud? What I found was I often got some good info but not everything. Sometimes you can see along the plane of the bottom of the caul and visually see if the middle was lower. I suggest you folks give it try... >Doesn't it make it much more likely that the strings which > we level will break in the future? Also, what about the notion that putting > a kink somewhere in the speaking length will cause a false beat? How about > overstressing the agraffe itself? I don't think the string is more likely to break in the future. We are not putting a kink in the string! If done correctly it shouldn't stress the agraffe. > Should strings on vertical pianos also be leveled? If so, would I bend the > ones that are sticking out in toward the pinblock, or pull the inner ones > out, as on a grand? If I should bend the ones that are sticking out in, > what tool should I use? I have rarely done it but I believe you push down on the higher strings in an upright. David ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA > > Arnold Schmidt, Raleigh, NC, arnold1@mindspring.com > > `[1;35;46mNet-Tamer V 1.05.1 - Test Drive > > >
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