The kinks, was v-bar/capo repair

[pianotune05]

Hi Ed,
Did my e-mail make it through on Saturday. I think you sent me a post. I 
tried to send a private one, but it keeps comming up pianotech when I hit 
reply, so I apologiize that this  post isn't necessarily piano related. I 
treid to copy your name but this computer wouldn't allow me to do that. 
Anyway, please let me know. Thanks.
Marshall
----- Original Message ----- 
From: <A440A at aol.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 13, 2006 8:01 AM
Subject: Re: The kinks, was v-bar/capo repair


>I wrote:
>
>>       There is another way.  It doesn't require additional stuff and you
> can
>>tell instantly whether it is effective or not.  Using a string hook, 
>>capture
>>the offending wire between the capo bar and the string rest and  give the
> tool
>>a twist.  Just enough to create a barely discernable kink in the wire .
>
> Ed asks:
>
>   >>How long does this last?  Does the kink eventually release and go out 
> of
> tune?
> Have you ever broken a string doing this, or are you just kidding? >>
>
>      Technicians NEVER break strings; strings do happen to break when we 
> are
> moving them around, though.
> This technique lasts a long time, years in numerous cases.  As long as the
> plastic deformation limit is not surpassed, the kink stays there.
>     I believe that music wire accomodates itself to tension almost
> instantly, and the "stretching" process a new string undergoes is just the 
> wire
> releasing tension around the outside radius where it is bent around the 
> hitch and
> bridge pins, agraffes or capo, or any other point it is diverted from a 
> staight
> line.   The vast majority of flatness I see in a new replacement string 
> comes
> from the coil. This is because the friction between the coil and pin is
> sufficient to prevent the becket from ever seeing the full tension of the 
> speaking
> length.  Ergo, the coil will continue giving up slack forever, (in the 
> same
> sense that it is mathematically impossible to completely empty the water 
> out of a
> discarded automobile tire).  Removing this slack upon installation helps 
> the
> string to settle in, tremendously.
>    I have found that by gripping the coil with vise grips, and twisting it
> in the direction of pull, I can usually remove about 150 cents of 
> flattening
> right when I install the string.  Another few days at pitch and the new 
> string
> will be stable. (this is after progressively "hardening" the bends around 
> the
> hitch and bridge pins, and lifting in front of the capo or agraffe, in 
> that
> order).
>  OOps, going off a tangent there.
> Regards,
>
>
>
> Ed Foote RPT
> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
>
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