Caustic String Braid

[Bill Ballard]

I looked at a 1927 L, rebuilt in Cincinatti in the mid-1970s. The most
obvious reason to call me was that a string had popped (D#-43). An unusual
break it was, too. Right under the stringbraid between the bridge and the
rear duplex. In fact while the rest of the 25-year-old wire was still quite
clean, there was thick corrosion of the wire wherever the string braid had
been threaded through it. I promptly spliced the wire with a square knot
and removed both sections of braid. (Nothing like a closed banr door to
hide the fact that the horse might not still be inside .) So on top of poor
hammers and bad damper work, I will also be restring just those two
sections (the bass and the bottom of the center).

The braid feels stiff and slightly waxy, like the kind of  of
water-proofing which was being done to pup-tents back when I should have
been a boy scout. Any clues as to what the braid might have been treated
with?

Bill Ballard, RPT
New Hampshire Chapter, PTG

"May you work on interesting pianos."
Ancient Chinese Proverb