some days you get what you ask for

[David Ilvedson]

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As a pain in the ass as it is to come back, I've quit using universals =
and always mail the string to Mapes for duplicating.   It does cost the=
 customer more but, imho, it matches the other string much better.   
D.I...




Original message
From: Piannaman@aol.com
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Received: 10/2/2005 6:39:31 PM
Subject: some days you get what you ask for


List,
 
Friday was certainly an interesting day on the job.  First piano was an=
 old Erhard upright, a nice old box made in 1919, pretty good shape.  I=
t had a broken high treble string on it, which I'd been aware of, and I=
 replaced it no problem.
 
Next piano, Acrosonic, circa 1950s.  Pitch raise, twang, G#2 wound bico=
rd snapped. A perfect candidate for one of the universal bass strings a=
 lug around.  As usual, spinning off excess copper was the most time co=
nsuming part of this job.  Again, no real problem.
 
I was thinking about how much I've improved in various repairs, thanks =
to many tips gleaned from this list and elsewhere in the PTG.  This typ=
e of repair was once something I dreaded, now it's just something I do =
in the line of duty.  "But," I told myself, "don't get cocky.  How long=
's it been since you've replaced a long wire in an understrung section =
of a piano?"  It had been awhile.
 
Which brings me to the next piano:  Steinway, a regular client, a nemes=
is piano that always finds a way to lengthen the appointment beyond an =
acceptable length.  A 1915 or so M re-whatevered badly a couple of deca=
des ago.  I was hoping for the best, but it was the usual 8-10 cent lat=
e-summer pitch raise.  No problem, at least until I got to A3.  Twang. =
 The A#3-A3 wire snapped.  Went to the car, got stringing stuff includi=
ng tube to get string onto hitch pin.  In the failing light of the day,=
 I got the job done, but time would have been saved had I brought in my=
 shop light so I could see better to route the wire through the bridge =
pins.
 
The upside:  3 strings on the day, no bloody finger tips.
 
The weirdness:  Haven't had a string break in a few months.  Why did th=
ey all gang up on me on one day???
 
Tip #1:  putting some tension on the wire makes it MUCH easier to get t=
he string placed properly around the bridge pins in the understrung are=
as.  
 
Tip #2:  Lighting is a good thing when doing this sort of job!
 
Thanks for reading,
 
Dave Stahl

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