Greetings Ed, I heard that in the old days, spare strings were sent with the instrument. Surprised this tradition is was not kept. I would determine the tension, measure the wires around it, consult with the maker and probably end up moving down a size. Did you try a square knot? I am guessing this might be easier to tie on "soft iron" than on modern piano wire. And I would guess the square knot might be less stressful to the iron wire. The modern knot, is it a sheep shank? has sharper bends in it than the square knot. Also being a member, I can get some info pretty fast from the Shrine to Music here in South Dakota if you need more input. I think they have a Graff. http://www.usd.edu/smm/index.html ---ric ----- Original Message ----- From: <A440A@AOL.COM> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Tuesday, January 08, 2002 11:59 AM Subject: Soft iron knot? | Greetings, | Having recently been the tech on a four day historical recording project, | I had about as much trouble as I ever had getting a clear sound out of a | fortepiano. We were using a copy of a Graf, and I was tuning a Young | temperament for a Schubert CD. Aside from the continual action abberations, | I had a couple of broken strings. | I tried tying the broken strings, I used two different knots that have | worked for me for many years, and neither string could be brought near its | pitch without breaking at the knot. | Is there a particular type of knot that is known to work with soft iron | strings? These were Rose, .080" wires. | Regards, | Ed Foote RPT
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