Fw: Leveling Coils & Pinching Becket

[Michael Gamble]

Hello Gordon Holley
This "technician" - was he (let us be sexist here!) in a hurry? Did he do
the job in the dark? Was he... sober? Did he actually have the nerve to
charge for such a botch job? Did he call out "Yee Hah!" after every string
he put on?
The coil setting tool I use is rather like a splayed out tip screw-driver,
the business edge tip of which has been hollowed out to the diameter of the
average wrest pin. The tip is bent upwards and the shank has an angle of
about 40deg. three inches or so from the tip. Then it goes into a wooden
handle. I wish I could source another of these! So you can dig in with this
tool right among the wrest-pins to sort out a horrible un-set coil.
Sometimes such a cowboy job reveals string windings on top of string
windings. Then you must slacken off quite a lot to re-set the coil. You need
at least three hands for this job! I always turn the pin very slowly so as
to not generate heat in the pin block. For this I use a "T" hammer. In fact
I use a "T" hammer all the way through this job as it allows me to get the
coil setter in where I can see it. For flattening the knebs I use a long
duck-billed plier.
Good luck! ;-)
Michael G (UK)
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Gordon Holley" <gholley@hi-techhousing.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, November 04, 2003 4:05 PM
Subject: Leveling Coils & Pinching Becket


> List.  I tuned a Kranish & Bach 5' Grand, 1918, last Saturday and was
> amazed at a terrible job of restringing another local technician (not
> a PTG member) did some 20 years back.  The owners had no idea what
> they were looking at but here's what I saw.
>
> 1. The pins were too high above the plate.

you'll have to use a pin punch with a cocktail stick fastened to the side
with masking tape to get the pins all the same height. But this is the very
last thing you do AFTER setting the coils and spacing etc.

> 2. The coils were not leveled AT ALL.
(Oh dear!)
> 3. The becket was not pinched in to the pin leaving a very visable
>       open loop before coming back to the pin on the first coil.
(Oh deary me!)
> 4. The strings were not spaced properly at all.

Some of the coils spacing tools (the not very good ones of 3/16" x 1/2"
metal) have a useful tri-cord slotted end for aligning and spacing the
strings.
>
> I have read through my filed conversations between Roger Jolly, Ed
> Foote, Joe Garrett, Jim Bryant, Isaac Oleg, Ron Nossaman, Richard
> Brekne and Alan Barnard, on the subject of "String Settling" back on
> July 12 & 13, 2003.
>
> Joe Jarrett said that Jim Bryant gave him a coil setting tool, which
> I would assume would be used when restringing.  Is a picture of this
> tool available?
>
> Main question:  I've not tried to level coils 20 years after the
> piano was restrung.  How is it done?.  I do have the typical string
> leveling tool.  This I didn't find in the discussions between these
> sage individuals.
>
> Regards,
> Gordon Holley
> Associate Member, Indiana Chapter 467
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
>
>