Whitney spinet

[Ted Simmons]

Hi List,

My first appointment this morning was with a Whitney spinet that was 100
cents flat.  Normally I would charge 2 pitch raises and a final tuning, but
I noticed that there were no bridle straps so I charged an extra pitch
raise; in other words, I went over it 4 times instead of 3.  I feel
justified in this because of the lack of bridle straps.  I certainly didn't
want to be faced with a broken string on this piano if I could help it.
Anyhow, as it turned out there were no broken strings and the piano ended
up right at A-440 and sounded pretty good.  My question is -- if a string
had broken and required removal of the action how would I accomplish this
without all of the jacks dropping down beneath the butts?  Second question:
should I have run as fast as I could from this piano?

Ted Simmons
Merritt Island, FL