Stringing Faux Pas or Not Taught Anymore?

[David Love]

Golf gloves work well especially for the left hand which also protects the
thumb from wear and tear when winding coils and doesn't compromise
dexterity.  When installing bass strings the simple rule is never touch the
copper.  You can handle the strings from the bare wire portion.  

 

In the plain wire section I wipe down the strings with a rag dipped in
Protek after each group of unisons, especially the area under the dampers.
With Roslau wire it cleans the strings of residue and also seems to prevent
corrosion from forming (at least for awhile) which helps keep the trichords
from swishing (trimming them properly helps that too).  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Jude Reveley/Absolute Piano
Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 8:15 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: Stringing Faux Pas or Not Taught Anymore?

 

I'm definitely a sweaty hands guy so I keep a box of vinyl inspection gloves
handy, lightly powered. It took some getting used to the feel (or lack there
of), but this too shall pass.  I go through a few sets per stringing from
handling the wire. They fit tight and therefore do not interfere with my
work pace or agility, nor is there any debris left in the piano. It's well
worth protecting the wire from the needless oxidation that results from even
the cleanest hands.

  

Jude Reveley, RPT
Absolute Piano Restoration, LLC
Lowell, Massachusetts
(978) 323-4545

----- Original Message ----- 

From: Michael Magness <mailto:IFixPianos at yahoo.com>  

To: Pianotech List <mailto:pianotech at ptg.org>  

Sent: Wednesday, August 08, 2007 9:49 AM

Subject: Stringing Faux Pas or Not Taught Anymore?

 

In a post relating to counter bearing drag John Delacour raised a very good
point. He was talking about a piano he had acquired from another tech that
had been stored in a shed for a year and how the copper on the strings was
dull, there was some rust etc. His suspicion was that the person who strung
it hadn't worn gloves.  

I recall being at a tech session in the recent past run by the shop manager
for a reputable rebuilder who went through several innovations they had come
up with for streamlining the process of stringing a piano. There were about
20 techs present and no one raised the question of why they weren't wearing
gloves! I not wanting to embaress the presenter, mentioned it after the
fact, privately and they had no knowledge of the need for it! I actually
suggested gloves or my favorite, cornstarch, I find gloves cumbersome, they
slow me down, especially when handling wire. 

 

Finding gloves isn't easy for me I wear an XXlarge but I was originally
taught back in class to keep a box of regular old cornstarch handy. Pour
about a teaspoonful in your hand and put some back into the other and rub
them together carefully then "wash" your hands in the cornstarch. It will
absorb the hand oils, sweat etc. on your hands. Pour some into the box of
tuning pins, a generous amount, so every time you reach for a pin you
re-apply it to your fingers. Every so often, when you change wire sizes,
perhaps, re-apply from the box. Not enough will cling to the tuning pins to
affect anything, your tuning pin tray will look messy but it will vacuum out
or blow out with a compressor. If any sticks a little work with a small
brush will dislodge it, most importantly your piano that you labored over
will not begin to rust prematurely. The downside is you will have very, very
dry hands but I've found that to be an occupational hazard, along with
having a daily stuffy nose.   

-- 
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com 

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