Becket

[Alan Barnard]

This is a very common event. The metal, presumably, is somewhat stressed and weakened making that 90 degree bend. You mentioned that it was a single bass string and that is also a common area of the piano for breakage of this type. If you loosen one of these strings, it is helpful to keep the coil under some tension (pull on it)  as you raise it back up to pitch so that the pulling force is applied to turns around the pin and not just to the wire at the becket bend. 

Alan Barnard
Salem, MO




Original message
From: "Michael Kurta" 
To: Pianotech 
Received: 12/6/2007 8:32:34 PM
Subject: Becket


    Anyone run into a broken becket?  Tuning a 50 year old Kohler & Campbell spinet yesterday, when BANG (you know the sound) and a single bass string let go.  Yet it was still in position.  Close inspection revealed that the becket had broken and the string coils were still in place on the pin.  Straightened out the coils, made a new bend and put the wire back, and tuned up fine.  What gives?
    Mike Kurta
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