Strate Mate...Was Remedial String Leveling

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Hi Ed,
Whoa, if you can do that bringing the string up, why not down also?
Joe Goss RPT
Mother Goose Tools
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <A440A@aol.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 23, 2005 4:49 PM
Subject: Re: Strate Mate...Was Remedial String Leveling


> Joe writes:
>
> << The tool will take away most of the non-parallelness of the strings,
but at
>
> the same time removes some of the elasticity of the string, limiting the
>
> amount of movement available to compensate for misdrilled agraffes. A
catch
>
> 22, Save some work, make your work harder >>
>
>         It is possible to lower a string, too.  This often is needed with
the
> Steinway agraffe sections.  (It can't be rocket science to drill the
agraffes
> evenly, and to tap the plate at 90 degrees to the string plane! And if it
is,
> S&S should hire the rocket scientists that seem to live at Yamaha,
Schimmell,
> Boston, and others! ) It blows my mind that such a high-profile instrument
> should suffer from such a basic foundational sloppiness.
>      A steel rod with a saw kerf in the side near the end, wide enough to
fit
> over the string, can be used to put a slight kink in the string downward.
I
> have done this and found there to be no noticeable effect on that strings
> inharmonicity, tone,  or "voice".
>         I use a four inch long 3/8" rod with a saw kerf about 1/4" from
the
> end.  I file the rod into a square that is, ultimately, about 1/4" on a
side.
> You may need to use two hack-saw blades stacked together to ge the kerf
wide
> enough.  I file the rod flat before making the cut and after I have the
right
> notch cut in it, I file the uncut side until it can fit between the
strings of
> a trichord.  It takes pretty good steel to have the strength to bend .045"
> wire without breaking.  O-1 properly hardened after shaping is good
enough.
> Smaller diameter wire can be kinked more easily with a smaller kerf.
Coupled with
> the tool to lift the wire, neither needs to make an extreme bend in order
to
> level the string.
>       Smooth all the edges so there is no nick placed in the string, and
> round the bottom so that the occasional contact with the plate doesn't dig
a small
> pit ,(damhiK) in the finish.
>    Hope this heresy helps.
>
>
> Ed Foote RPT
> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
>
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