Evelyn, The solution is to replace the broken strings. It is not the piano's fault. Keeping the hammers well shaped and the action in regulation minimizes breakage, especially the hammer shape. But certain pianists will break strings, and if the pianist has a favorite piece that stresses those notes, the strings will get tired and break on the same notes over and over. The only little trick I have found to reduce the stress a little is to raise the balance rail glide all the way up at the treble break, where the strings are breaking. It doesn't stop the breakage, but can help a little without detracting from the tone and touch of the action too much. So, replace all of the strings on the affected notes to start them all fresh, smooth the capo, shape the hammers, regulate the action, and try raising the balance rail glide. I'd be interested to hear if the glide trick helps on this piano. Don Mannino ----- Original Message ----- From: Evelyn Smith To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Sunday, August 02, 2009 6:56 PM Subject: [pianotech] string breakage--repeat offenders Hello all, I'm having trouble with a few treble strings that keeps breaking on a 1982 Baldwin M. The strings are at the beginning of the 2nd capo, and they always break at the capo bar. The second and third strings (G#-A6 and A6) are the main repeat offenders. One of them breaks about every two years. I have sanded the capo smooth, and there are no burrs that I can see or feel. There is a bit of a edge on the backside of the capo, and I'm wondering if that's the culprit. I've tried changing the wire gauge by 1/2 size up and down, and filed the hammers, but the breakage continues. I'm ready to file the capo with a metal file as described in Ed McMorrow's book, The Educated Piano. But I'm tired of trying things that don't work. Has anyone else solved this problem? Thanks, Evelyn -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20090802/23b620fd/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC