In a message dated 4/30/98 7:31:56 AM Central Daylight Time, pianoman@inlink.com writes: << Hi All, Just wondering what the rest of you thought about the practice of putting the wire all the way through the becket with enough left over to go some more around the tuning pins. Seems like I remember that Baldwin was the first to do this some years ago and I figure it had something to do with a device they used for coiling. It seems that this would really mess up the person who was unstringing these pianos for rebuilding. Any thoughts? James Grebe >> More than one manufacturer of low cost pianos did this and yes, you are right, it makes the coil difficult to remove later. I believe the reason and the advantage for doing this however was that it created a perfect 90º bend in the becket (spelled according to the latest recommendation from Jim) on the other side which did not require a closure technique. For this reason, it was a worthy and good practice. I even occasionally use this technique myself in a difficult situation such as when I have spliced a string. If the wire protrudes through to the other side and is bent over, the bend where the coil starts will be perfect and will not creep out or distort. This can help make what coil you have be secure in the occasion difficult situation even though it does not appear very craftsmanlike and generally would be frowned upon. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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