This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Dear Caut, I am curious about the stainless steel wire advertized in the Journal. = Has anyone used it? Or intending to? I was taught that the main = objection to it was that its breaking strain was not high enough, but = wonder if the metallergy has improved for this particular make of wire. = If so it would be a true breakthrough. If one thinks about it, the = modern piano could not exist without high tensile wire; back in the = heyday of the piano, wire makers competed fiercely to increase the = strength of their product. Pohlmann wire, made in Germany, seemed to be = the most popular. American wire was made in two hardnesses, for treble = and bass respectively. As I made bass strings, and had acquired an old = factory foot operated looper, I tried at one time to loop treble wire, = but it shattered every time. Incidentally, the time for making a loop is = about eight seconds. I also sent six different brands of wire to the = Ontario Research Lab. and found there was little to choose between them = where breaking strength was concerned. Unfortunately they were unable to = supply the elastic limits, which are generally considered to be about = two thirds of the breaking strain. Klaus Fenner contests this and claims = it to be 90%, and even if this is correct I would still prefer scales to = be calculated within the two thirds as every bend in a string stretches = the crystalline structure on the outside and compresses it on the = inside, thus causing significant weakening.=20 In a grand piano, rusting can occur more on the underside of the = strings; one can sometimes observe this in institutions where the string = marks on the hammers are reddish brown; the proof is that this is not so = for the bass. Yet the top surfaces are relatively rust free. I believe = this is because condensation collects on the underside of the wire. This = is important when voicing, as part of the routine should be to clean the = underside of the strings with fine steel wool or polita, (obtainable = from supply houses, an eraser impregnated with a fine abrasive). One can = only reach the strike areas of course.(Remember to raise the dampers!). = It does not make much sense to nicely file the hammers then allow them = to collect rust deposits to affect the voicing. I have never seen this = mentioned before; it is analogous to taking a shower then putting on = dirty underwear.=20 Now, as for knowing when to re-string, there has already been excellent = advice. When breakage starts to become frequent is a good indicator. If = re-stringing is delayed, one can literally be doing it anyway, one = string at a time, which is wasteful, time consuming and causes = aggravation for all concerned. Regards to all, Ted Sambell ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/1d/c6/7b/e3/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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