Lifting the strings with a hook does not destroy as much the tuning as
15 cts in my experience if the strings have settled when it is done .
Actually, I more or less rely on my hammers strike plane to mate the
strings, one have to be confident with its filing technique to get
there. It does not avoid checking with a finger, or a little rule that
covers a few unisons (or have a look at the unavoidable slants with
the help of a bubble level)
a value of half these number seem more what I find.
I had a look at the "accoustimate" device and I am tempted to build
one myself (it is sold 89 $ I guess, but with shipment costs it get
much more to get there) . Does someone have dimensions of the device ?
I also wonder if the roller can't be a little less large ? I guess it
is a polyurethane roller, that can be find in any specialized shop.
The squaring of the device may be important. I have seen stringers
using some square wood block with a handle (a big dowel) covered with
leather to straighten the large bends and at the same time warm the
strings a tad to begin to get the slack out, but this was done from
above, and it does not straighten very precisely the level.
Working from under with some light pressure should certainly prove
useful. and nowadays, using a good setup should provide some evenness,
that is very difficult to obtain with a hook, a rod or whatever,
particularly if the dampers are mounted.
The slant we find often in strings level is due to the fact the
agrafes or capo are not always at the same orientation than the
bridge, depending of the soundboard, the season, etc. Then if we check
the level behind the dampers we can see a tendency to slant ,while the
strings may well be level at the strike point. In short grand's we
even can't check the level from above in front of the dampers often.
Going one step farther, in some case to obtain a real level at the
strike mean that the strings have to slant some near the agrafes, to
compensate for an accentuated slant produced at the bridge. That mean
that the information given by the little brass rule or the bubble
gauge may be taken with a bit of salt, or decoded in regard of the
level at the bridge for instance.
So it is easier and faster to have mating done with the hammers as a
reference, using a little brass rule to keep the eventual tendency the
same direction (and avoid for instance to slant the strings plane in
every direction in case the strike level is not that perfect).
Then if one want to have the best and durable fit, one can go thru the
long process of leveling again and again, till the end of the
stringing process (before the dampers are mounted) till the string
plane is almost perfect at the strike, but as this is a temporary
state in some zone because of the soundboard shape changes with
seasons, one may not be too perfect on this part of the job I believe.
Knowing the model we are working on may also help.
Another thing goes in the equation , if it is a Steinway, the hammers
are not centered on the unison, but spaced 1-3 2/3 , then the left
side of the hammer wear faster, and mating have to be done more often
than one wish.
The same apply if the travel is not ideal .
Do some of you find that feeling with a finger the unison plane can be
misleading ? some time it confirm what the hammer or the ruler shows,
sometime the ruler shows a different height than I feel with my
finger. That is a mystery to me (I have a good sensitive finger , as
tested by a fingerologist each year to be sure, the curve actually is
pretty even without lack of sensibility in no regions ;>)
Best regards to all.
Have a nice week end.
Isaac OLEG
-----Message d'origine-----
De : pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]De la
part de Kevin E. Ramsey
Envoyé : samedi 17 avril 2004 06:08
À : Piano Tech List
Objet : Fw: New topic: Lifting the Strings
----- Original Message -----
From: Kevin E. Ramsey
To: Piano Tech List
Sent: Friday, April 16, 2004 8:46 PM
Subject: Fw: New topic: Lifting the Strings
----- Original Message -----
From: Michael Gamble
To: pianotech
Sent: Saturday, March 06, 2004 9:04 AM
Subject: New topic: Lifting the Strings
Hello List and Roger J.
You mentioned "lifting the strings" Could you explain the method, and
the
why's and wherefore's here?
Regards from Sunny Sussex
Michael G (UK)
Michael, what this means is that you remove the bend the wire takes as
it
comes into the capo-bar, or agraffe. You do this once the wire has
ceased
stretching, or once it's stable. At least I do that, some people
probably do
it when the piano's new, but I prefer to wait. The result is that the
strings are predictably level to the hammers, after which you can mate
the
hammers to the strings. Run your fingers over the tri-chords in the
tenor
area on a new grand, for instance, you will notice that you can feel
some of
the strings are lower than the others. Now raise the hammers to the
strings
by lifting on the jack tails, and pluck them. Sure enough, the lower
strings sound blocked, and the higher strings are ringing. The let-off
has
to be very close to do this, or else you can use a felt strip between
the
jack and the knuckle to get this effect, in which case you will be
taking
teflon off the knuckle, if you've just applied it.
In order to lift the strings, or the way I think about it; "to
seat the
strings on their forward terminations" you use a string hook on the
tenor or
agraffe section, dragging the hook toward you, without lifting too
vigorously, and I use a brass rod, with the action out, from
underneath the
action cavity, being careful to use the same amount of pressure on
each
string in the cap-bar section. You can feel it easily with your finger
if
you only use one. In the bass, you only have to worry about the
bi-chords,
although it may be wise to do it to the mono-chords also.In the
bi-chords;
you may find a pattern where all the left strings block, and the right
strings are open, I don't know why that is, but I find that a lot on
Kawai's. Must be something to do with the string angle coming into the
agraffe. Pull up on the strings that are blocking, and they'll
probably be
level. Of course, all of this wire work with destroy your tuning. If
you
plan on giving the piano under your hands this treatment, you should
probably have the piano about 15 or twenty cents sharp before you
start,
otherwise you're going to be doing another pitch raise tuning. If you
want
to put the piano at 35 cents sharp, you can also remove the bend the
wire
takes at the front bridge pin, by using an upright hammer shank and a
2
ounce hammer, putting the shank at a 45 degree angle to the string and
tapping lightly. A string under tension can easily dig into the
bridge if
provoked.....
Well, you asked. Those are my thoughts on the matter. Tomorrow I'll
probably read all about how I was wrong, or read this myself and wish
that I
could edit it.
Kevin.
_______________________________________________
pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC