Measure the core and outer diameters of the adjacent notes (along with the lengths from hitch to front bridge pin and hitch to agraffe for each string to be replaced) and send the info to the string maker. They will calculate the best fill in between the two notes and make a string of proper length. Don't use unknown stock scales. You will either be throwing away the customer's money or your own. David Love www.davidlovepianos.com From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Dunn Sent: Monday, June 28, 2010 12:13 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: [pianotech] Baldwin R question Hello folks, This is my first time posting a question here, and I'd like to start by saying thanks to all of you for the helpful information I've gathered here over the past three years. I'm servicing a Baldwin R from 1999 which has had overly hardened hammers and thus a propensity to breaking strings (plain wire and bass strings). I replaced a whole mess of both back in Dec/Jan, and reshaped the hammers while I was at it. The player in the house is a dedicated practicer, currently putting in ca. 10 hours/day (in between his So/Jr years of high school), and has started to break bass strings again. I'm going to either be reshaping again (definitely needed) or getting the owner (Dad) to spring for a new set (what is really needed...). However, there is a weirdness: The strings that have broken in the last month are among the ones I have replaced six months ago, and they have all broken at the bridge pin (speaking length) termination, rather than the agraffe, as was the case with the original strings that broke. The replacement strings are from Schaff, using their scale #11 - the only Baldwin R scale they have. I had them make the replacements from this scale, as the owner had already disposed of the originals before I came on the scene (he was...ahem...a 'do it yourself'er before I convinced him of the error of his ways). The replacements matched (at least in those I was able to compare, e.g. when replacing one of a bichord pair) very closely in every respect except the wrap length, which is shorter than the original strings' by a significant amount (3/8-1/2" or more). Has Baldwin changed the R scale over the years? If so, how can I get this information, and pass it on to the string maker for the down-the-road benefit of us all? Thanks in advance! David Dunn, RPT -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100628/78eaf9e8/attachment.htm>
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