Breaking strings (new angle?)

Jim Coleman, Sr. pianotoo@imap2.asu.edu
Thu, 25 Feb 1999 15:34:42 -0700 (MST)


HI Bill:

I think my original comment had to do with stress at the coil not being a
cause for breakage. If a string breaks at the coil it is most always caused
by great resistance between the speaking length termination and the 
tuning pin, not the wear at the coil from multiple tuning. Breakage at the
capo bar is caused primarily from very heavy and usually repeated pounding.
Yes, we do some of that while we are tuning. I would grant you that 
there is some wear of the string at the capo bar. If you destring a piano
you can notice a slight flat wear spot where the string comes under the capo
bar. This can also happen in agraffes, but usually the brass will wear 
before the string wears. You will notice on broken strings that there is
a slight "necking down" of the diameter of the string right at the break.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Thu, 25 Feb 1999 Bdshull@AOL.COM wrote:

> Dr. Jim,
> 
> I was surprised at your statement about frequent tuning not causing string
> breakage.  I have always believed that the combination of solid hammer blows
> and string rendering fatigued the wire beyond what heavy practicing did to the
> wire.  Do you have a technique that gets stability without eventual breakage -
> am I missing something here?
> 
> Bill Shull
> U of Redlands (yes, Jim, the same former Amer. Baptist school you visited with
> the glee club), La Sierra U
> Bdshull@aol.com
> 



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