Tuning Square Grands

[Jon Page]

I have one of these beasts to tune every year for the local 
Historical Society, and one for a friend every fives years or so.
Fortunately the Hist. Soc.'s square can be left a half tone flat. (whew)

To make the pin selection easier, use front fail punchings with letters
of the scale enscribed and place over the pins of the unmuted strings
in the temperament section. Lay the bearings and tune out from there.

I retrung an old (real old) square and hunted out the open spiral
bass strings from Ari Isaac. Treble wire from Zuckermann.

The third one I used to tune annually, I declined.  Even though it was
a beautiful Chickering about a kilometer long. I had already done the
extensive action repair needed but could not bring myself to tune
horizontally. This usually meant leaning way over (sometimes on tip-toes)
with arms stretched apart to reach.  

I often wondered how many tuners got a broken wire whipped across
their face. Fortunately I have no first hand accounts of this. 

In the last 10 years I have broken up 3 squares. The keybeds make nice
work benches.  I salvaged a few pieces of the keyframe for action models.
Two of them had decorative castings in the plate which I cut out.
So you see, there are good tings to do with squares.,

Jon Page
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass. (jpage@capecod.net)
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