Bar Hopping....:-)(v bars, that is)

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message -----
From: <PNHISTIC1@AOL.COM>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, June 12, 2002 10:49 PM
Subject: Bar Hopping....:-)(v bars, that is)

 >For all of you piano
> builders out there:  tell me that you put the springs [strings] on before
the pressure
> bar is installed.....:-)
>
> Dave "learning something everyday" Stahl

    Yes, but before tension is brought up, otherwise you can't tighten the
pressure bar screws without stripping the slots or breaking the screws.
    But regarding your problem threading that string through--I've run into
similar situations and just improvised little "guides" to force the string
to go where I want it to go.  The umbrellas stave tool for grand damper
wires can be used as a channel:  lay it on top of the stringing felt and
poking under the pressure bar to catch the tip of the wire when you push it
through.  Sometimes I've had to pre-curve the end of the wire so it will not
poke itself into the felt and get buried.  On most verticals, I measure,
make the hitch-pin bend, and cut to length first, then pre-wind the coils.
Then insert the hitch-pin bend under the pressure bar and pull it through
with the stringing hook.  But if there's a splice, an agraffe, or a hitch
pin loop (single string), this isn't possible.  Sometimes you have to loosen
neighboring strings and pull them aside for more room to work.  I s'pose you
could thread a piece of wire through backwards, make a hook, and pull the
new string through (not too big a hook or it will tear the felt up), kinda
like using a fish tape to pull electrical wire through a conduit.  I've
always found a way and none of 'em have defeated me yet -- not with
replacing a string, anyway.....   --David Nereson, RPT, Denver