[pianotech] Stringmaking Question

[John Ross]

Funny you should mention a rubbing.
That is what I always used to do, and can't remember an error.
When they came out with the bass string ordering templates using 
measurements, that is when my problems started.
Mind you, an error in my measurements, is just as likely the reason for the 
error.
I think I will go back to making a paper impression. Obviously less room for 
error.
John Ross
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "John Delacour" <JD at Pianomaker.co.uk>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, November 23, 2008 7:43 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Stringmaking Question


At 16:34 -0400 23/11/08, John Ross wrote:

>Should a good string maker be able to determine if a wrong
>measurement is supposedly given for a custom string set?

Yes.

>The set had all the windings uniform at the tuning pin end. However
>one pair had the windings half way across the bridge. There were two
>other pairs that had one of the pair with a winding 1 mm from the
>bridge.

It happens to the best of stringmakers from time to time.  If you
gave wrong measurements, then your man should have picked that up and
queried them, but even if you gave right measurements such a mistake
could happen for various reasons depending on how the stringmaker
works.

If you send a rubbing and forget about any measuring, there is far
less chance of mistakes.  I hate to work from measurements because
they do not allow the degree of accuracy in the copper lines that is
possible with a rubbing.  On the very rare occasions I am sent
measurements I transfer them to a pseudo-rubbing and work from that.
Any discrepancies are made obvious by this means -- but I make a
substantial extra charge for working from measurements because it
takes a long time and makes me nervous.  I have never understood why
people in some other countries prefer measurements.  It takes the
technician (with or without a helper) far longer to measure the 40 or
50 strings, type it all out and send the order than the ten minutes
it takes to get a precise rubbing that will enable the stringmaker to
produce a near-perfect copper line.

<http://pianomaker.co.uk/rubbing.html>

JD (Stringmaker since 1984)


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   Delacour Pianos  *  Silo  *  Deverel Farm  *  Milborne St. Andrew
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John M.Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.