[CAUT] Case of the mysteriously breaking treble strings

[Jeff Olson]

That's quite all right, Michelle.  I've worked on a few pianos over the 
years that were multiply strange, too, so I'd say you're in good company 
("Welp"??).  I'm awarding half the 20 points to you, and half to Scott T. 
Please don't spend them all in one place.

Anyhow, to put on a cap on this whole intrigue -- the bottom stagger pins 
were shifting on some of the notes.  I'm afraid I wasn't very observant.  I 
performed a cursory examination -- visual and hands-on -- and the pins felt 
and looked reasonably tight (no obvious fractures or looseness).  However, 
the wood was simply "soft" in certain areas in the high treble.  The pins 
shifted fairly subtly, but enough to cause me to crank the strings up too 
much.  I've never been fooled in this particular way before, and I feel a 
bit stupid about it.  But live and learn, as they say (the alternative 
options don't seem overly appealing:).

No, I didn't recap the bridge, so feel free to ream me out if you must.  I 
injected the soft areas near the end of the bridge with JB Weld, inserted 
the pins, and a few days later completed the stringing without incident.

Incidentally, on the subject of glues/epoxies, I've triied out a large 
number, and have yet to find one that can compete in overall 
strength/performance with JB Weld, despite some fairly powerful testimonials 
about CA (a mechanic friend claimed to have used CA to repair threaded holes 
in an engine block).

Best,

Jeffo


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Michelle Stranges" <stranges@Oswego.EDU>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 12:07 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Case of the mysteriously breaking treble strings


> Welp??  whaddo I win?????
>
> :D
>
> (Gosh I feel like I'm on "The Price is Right" !!!)
>
> Well- it sounded "bridge-y" to me...
>
> Hmmm..
>
> Anyways..
>
> Yes.
>
> I am strange.
> So strange, they put an "s" on the end of my name.
> Pluraled my strangeness.
>
> :)
>
> On Oct 5, 2005, at 2:10 PM, Jeff Olson wrote:
>
>> Michelle "Very" Stranges:
>>
>> <I vote that the bridge was maybe kinda sorta doing something rather
>> "funny", yaknowwhatimean??>
>>
>> God help me, but I think I do :-).  Actually, this is the closest  to 
>> being
>> right, though I'm not sure I can award you my planned 20 Bonus Points
>> without something a bit more specific.
>>
>> It seems to me you did pretty well on guessing a mystery problem  awhile
>> back, too.
>>
>> JeffO
>>
>> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Michelle Stranges" 
>> <stranges@Oswego.EDU>
>> To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
>> Sent: Wednesday, October 05, 2005 6:31 AM
>> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Case of the mysteriously breaking treble strings
>>
>>
>>
>>> I vote that the bridge was maybe kinda sorta doing something rather
>>> "funny", yaknowwhatimean??
>>>
>>> :)
>>>
>>> (Sorry - just got out of a (di)faculty meeting... more like an   episode 
>>> of
>>> Romper Room...)
>>>
>>> Sheesh!!
>>>
>>> :(
>>> Michelle
>>>
>>> On Oct 5, 2005, at 8:24 AM, Conrad Hoffsommer wrote:
>>>
>>>
>>>> JeffO,
>>>>
>>>> You didn't say _where_ they broke, did you?
>>>>
>>>> Were the pins driven so far that the string rode up and over the 
>>>> lowest
>>>> coil and broke at that point?
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>> -----Original Message-----
>>>>> From: Jeff Olson [mailto:jlolson@cal.net]
>>>>> Sent: 04 October 2005 22:44
>>>>> To: College and University Technicians
>>>>> Subject: [CAUT] Case of the mysteriously breaking treble strings
>>>>>
>>>>> Speaking of UFOs, I was having trouble identifying the cause for a
>>>>> stubbornly breaking treble string in the high treble of an older
>>>>> upright.
>>>>>
>>>>> It began with one string that broke twice.  The first time, I 
>>>>> assumed
>>>>> I'd
>>>>> nicked it or something installation.  The second time, I  wondered  if 
>>>>> it
>>>>> was
>>>>> hanging up on something.  But I'd cleaned and polished the   pressure
>>>>> bar, and
>>>>> I didn't spot anything abrasive on the bridge or harp.
>>>>>
>>>>> Then, as I started chipping the piano to pitch, several more   strings
>>>>> broke
>>>>> in the high treble (#13).  I decided to measure the wire,  though  it 
>>>>> was
>>>>> coming fresh out of a new packet (Roslau), and was surprised  that the
>>>>> labeled 13 was actually 13 1/2.  That seemed odd, but not  likely  to
>>>>> explain
>>>>> the breakage.  In any case, I switched to 13 -- actually micced  it 
>>>>> this
>>>>> time -- and the strings still broke.
>>>>>
>>>>> Then, finally, I figured it out.  Any ideas about what the   "mystery
>>>>> cause"
>>>>> was?
>>>>>
>>>>> Best,
>>>>>
>>>>> JeffO
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> Conrad Hoffsommer
>>>> I tried to get a life once, but they were all out of stock.
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>>>>
>>>
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