I've also had the problem with wire breakage even when replacing with (new) never used wire that may be many years old especially the the yellow or red (brass/bronze) wire. I heard in previous comments mention of corrosion and mishandling, kinking etc. What about using wire that may have been in a box for 20 or 40 years--experience is telling me that it may not be a good idea to use the wire--30 years later-- that came with the instrument when it was new. A harpsichord maker once wanted to replace all the wire of one gage because he found that the wire he put on was 'bad'. In the '70's I had a 5 lb coil of #19 piano wire so hard that it would break when bending the beckett. Could it also be possible the the material (brass) hardens with time even if it is not under stress? While on the topic does the brass as in an old upright hammer rail actually harden or 'crystalize' as I've been told by various technicians or does the failure happen from the years of stress gripping the center pin and maybe being overtightened repeatedly? I suggest only tightening these butt plate screws with very minimal force. I have also noticed some brass flange rails are of thicker material and have had less breakage. Jonathan Moberg -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/caut.php/attachments/20091204/92862506/attachment.htm>
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