Strate Mate...Was Remedial String Leveling

[David Ilvedson]

But Steinway doesn't make their own agraffes...do they?

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California


----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: A440A@aol.com
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Received: 10/23/2005 11:49:21 AM
Subject: Re: Strate Mate...Was Remedial String Leveling


>Joe writes:

><< The tool will take away most of the non-parallelness of the strings, but at

>the same time removes some of the elasticity of the string, limiting the

>amount of movement available to compensate for misdrilled agraffes. A catch

>22, Save some work, make your work harder >>

>        It is possible to lower a string, too.  This often is needed with the 
>Steinway agraffe sections.  (It can't be rocket science to drill the agraffes 
>evenly, and to tap the plate at 90 degrees to the string plane! And if it is, 
>S&S should hire the rocket scientists that seem to live at Yamaha, Schimmell, 
>Boston, and others! ) It blows my mind that such a high-profile instrument 
>should suffer from such a basic foundational sloppiness.  
>     A steel rod with a saw kerf in the side near the end, wide enough to fit 
>over the string, can be used to put a slight kink in the string downward. I 
>have done this and found there to be no noticeable effect on that strings 
>inharmonicity, tone,  or "voice". 
>        I use a four inch long 3/8" rod with a saw kerf about 1/4" from the 
>end.  I file the rod into a square that is, ultimately, about 1/4" on a side.  
>You may need to use two hack-saw blades stacked together to ge the kerf wide 
>enough.  I file the rod flat before making the cut and after I have the right 
>notch cut in it, I file the uncut side until it can fit between the strings of 
>a trichord.  It takes pretty good steel to have the strength to bend .045" 
>wire without breaking.  O-1 properly hardened after shaping is good enough.  
>Smaller diameter wire can be kinked more easily with a smaller kerf.  Coupled with 
>the tool to lift the wire, neither needs to make an extreme bend in order to 
>level the string.  
>      Smooth all the edges so there is no nick placed in the string, and 
>round the bottom so that the occasional contact with the plate doesn't dig a small 
>pit ,(damhiK) in the finish.  
>   Hope this heresy helps. 


>Ed Foote RPT 
>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
> 
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