String breakage (was Re: I Raise the pitch...)

[Tom Cole]

Keith A. McGavern wrote:
>
> >On the initial pitch raise do you break the tuning pin flat first before
> >you go up in pitch?  This simple procedure reduced my string breakage on
> >pitch raises by about 80%...
> >
> >Warren D. Fisher
>
> Dear List,
>
> Thank you Warren, for mentioning this procedure, as it has stirred memories.
>
> I have heard this method mentioned many times in my years of tuning pianos,
> tuning the pin flat before going up in pitch as a means of reducing string
> breakage.  I was wondering if any others also have personal experience or
> knowledge concerning this procedure as really being beneficial, or is this
> possibly one of those proverbial "wives' tales" handed down through the
> ages.  Don't have a clue myself.
>
> Sincerely,
>
> Keith A. McGavern
> kam544@ionet.net
> Registered Piano Technician
> Oklahoma Chapter 731
> Piano Technicians Guild
> Oklahoma Baptist University
> Shawnee, Oklahoma, USA
>
> .-

Keith,

One of the first things I learned about piano tuning was how to deal with an old upright
with rusty strings that were below pitch. My mentor would drizzle a little Liquid Wrench
onto a paint brush and wet the bearing points with it. He explained that there could be a
_rust bond_ at the _V_ bar and/or pressure bar and dissolving this rust with a solvent
would give you a better chance at not breaking strings. He would also drop the string
about half an octave, which I've always thought way extreme if all we're doing is
breaking the _rust bond_ (the strings usually would slip around the hitch pins). But I
have had the experience of pulling up on a string only to have it break before detecting
any rise in pitch which gives some credence to the rust bond theory.

And no, Liquid Wrench doesn't appear to harm bass string windings.

Tom
--
Thomas A. Cole, RPT
Santa Cruz, California