Stringing Piano

[Farrell]

I just completed re-stringing my first piano! Wow, are my fingers sore. It
came out great though. A little grand with no agraffes. Only had to move
about four strings for damper wire clearance, etc. Just finished bringing it
up to pitch yesterday. I had David Sanderson rescale the entire piano and
make the bass strings. WOW, what a nice job. I never heard nice clear
matching bass strings like these on a small piano before. The owner isn't
ready for new hammers yet, but I am going to experiment a bit with some
Abels, etc. to see what kind of sound I can get out of the little fellow.
After I get the action fully regulated and the piano tuned, I want to see if
we actually 'added a foot' to my piano. I'm quite optimistic. Has anyone
else used Sanderson's strings? Waddaya think?

Thanks to Jon Page for the Becket Tool idea - I made a dead ringer for
yours. It worked well in the treble, but when I got into tight areas in the
tenor and bass (I realize this was the area specifically targeted by the
tool), I found that I had to do a  lot of estimating for length. How do you
get around that - or what guidelines do you use for estimation? I'm always
measuring from a steep angle. I like how the unit hangs onto the wire after
measurement for cutting. It is nice on the bass strings also because you can
use it to help pull the bass string tight.

I used Roslau wire from Schaff. I noticed - AFTER the piano was strung -
that two of the wire gauges are a bit dull (not shiny like the others).
Could this be something related to the manufacturing process - and all I
need to do is wipe it with some kind of solvent or such - or did Schaff send
me wire that had been sitting on a shelf for a bunch of years and is
starting to corrode. I figure sure, they will give me a new roll of wire -
la dee da - kinda makes me mad. Any great suggestions for cleaning them up?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com