[CAUT] Insta-coiler

[Tim Coates]

Susan,

I found the Insta-coiler paid for itself the first time I used it.   
The tuning pins are all driven first to a 32mm height.  This  
eliminates the problem you mention with the plate being scraped by  
the tool.  After the strings are all on and there has been one chip  
tune, the pins are leveled to 22mm height.   As you are doing the  
first chip tune one can lift any errant coils that aren't as tight as  
you would like.

I had severe tendinitis in my right elbow before I started using the  
Insta-coiler.  I could barely lift an empty coffee cup.  The Insta- 
coiler helped immensely with overcoming the stress on the elbow from  
stringing.   At the same time I also taught myself to be  
ambidextrous  while tuning.  Being an ambidextrous tuner really  
relieves the pain that can develop from  repetitive movement day  
after day.

I know quite a few people who use the Insta-coiler and I will not go  
back to the most widely taught stringing methods.   I find stringing  
to be enjoyable.

Tim Coates


On Nov 5, 2007, at 11:15 AM, Susan Kline wrote:

> That's interesting, Tim. I used a Sciortino stringing tool a lot  
> quite a few years ago, when I was stringing a few pianos. I did  
> notice that if the tuning pin were too low in the pinblock, the  
> tool would bottom out against the plate and the coil would bind and  
> start coiling above instead of below the becket. I found I had to  
> check to be sure it wasn't doing that.
>
> The tool was great for one thing, though. It always made a really  
> tight bend where the wire came out of the tuning pin, and it saved  
> my aching thumb. Especially for the big wire sizes in the deep  
> bass, this really nice pain-free sharp bend at the becket was worth  
> fiddling a little with the tool the rest of the time.
>
> Susan Kline
>
> At 03:29 AM 11/3/2007, Tim wrote:
>> I had been using the same Insta-coiler for twenty years.  No  
>> problems.  I got nervous that it showed signs of being worn so I  
>> bought a new one to be safe.   Well, the new one's design was  
>> changed.  It broke immediately.  The inner part was made and  
>> designed differently.  So, I redesigned the inner part and had a  
>> high tech machine shop make it.  The new design works perfectly as  
>> does my twenty year old tool.  The new tool has a different design  
>> somewhat than the old tool, but it is very smooth and makes great  
>> coils.
>>
>> If enough people are interested I can have more made.  The larger  
>> the run the lower the cost.
>>
>> Tim Coates
>> Wapin Company, LLP
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