Wire Size Differences

[Farrell]

My strong recommendation is to not worry about what was there, but concentrate on putting new properly sized wire in there. Rescale the piano. Don't do all the work of restringing without rescaling. Joe Garrett rescales pianos. I have had David Sanderson rescale several for me. Other folks on this list do rescaling. Low cost, big improvement. Often you will be changing several plain wire notes in the low tenor to wound bicords - again often big improvement.

I also highly recommend refurbishing the bridges at a minimum. It doesn't take very long, costs almost nothing, is good experience, and sure helps the sound a lot. By refurbishing I mean to remove bridge pins, plane down to string groove bottoms (or more if needed for good downbearing - although that is not often the case), renotch, install new bridge pins set in thin epoxy. Really clears up the false beats in the upper treble - and elsewhere. Don't forget to either put in new agraffes or ream the old ones, and resurface the capo.

Some of those old Starr's had real pretty plates. Kinda like some of the pretty old Chickering plates.

Good luck.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gordon Holley" <gholley@hi-techhousing.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 10, 2002 10:16 AM
Subject: Wire Size Differences


> List.  I'm re-stringing a 1936 Starr Grand and in checking the wire 
> sizes in the tenor and treble sections I first used a music wire 
> gauge, purchased from Schaff, and then took readings with a 
> micrometer.  With the wire gauge, which doesn't measure half sizes, I 
> get sizes such as 21, 19, 18, 17, etc.  When using the micrometer 
> those same wire sizes read .046 which would be a 20 1/2 wire size, 
> .042 which is an 18 1/2, .040 which is 17 1/2 wire size, and .037 
> which is a 16 wire size.  OK you get the idea.  
> I did read some time back that the wire sizes in an older piano, such 
> as this, are going to stetch over time and not give accurate 
> measurements when one is going to re-string.  Should I stick with the 
> wire sizes as taken with the wire gauge which will be full sizes and 
> no half sizes, or punt?.
> I would appreciate some discourse on this subject again.  Thanks in 
> advance to all.  BTW this is my first attempt at trying to make "Old 
> Grand" look new.  Hammers, shanks, strings, pins, felt, cloth, paint 
> job on plate, some lip stick, pearls and black boots,  etc., etc. 
> And yes, I know I won't make any profit on this when I sell it, 
> probably give it to one of our kids, but it's all a part of my 
> training and I'm having a lot of fun doing it..   Thanks again, 
> Gordon Holley, Goshen, Indiana.