breaking strings

[Les Smith]

On Wed, 7 Oct 1998, Frank Cahill wrote:

> Clyde Hollinger wrote:
> > 
> > Friends:
> > 
> > OK, so this piano is nothing special, for sure.  1956 K & C console.
> > But when I went to tune it today, 3 (yes, that's THREE!)  single wound
> > bass strings tore!  I was fit to be tied!  I HATE hearing them things go
> > bang like that!
> > 
> > One string was knotted by a previous tuner, and I had replaced one four
> > years ago.  What is going on here?  No rust or anything, was tuned in
> > 92, 93, 94, 96 and now 98, always in October.  Any ideas?  I'm afraid to
> > touch the thing again.  One other oddity, if it's a clue; it's always
> > 10-15 cents flat, unusual for a piano this age even if it IS tuned only
> > every two years.
> > 
> > Clyde Hollinger
> 
> 
> Hey, if you bend metal enough, it breaks.  I'm convinced that if you
> know how to tune (not a beginner), you can't do much about breaking
> strings.  I've tried the "tune flat then bring it up" trick, and it's no
> gaurantee.
> 
> Of course, if you break more than one string on the same piano, the
> customer is convinced it's your fault.  I lost a customer over this. 
> She liked my tuning, my attitude toward her family, her 6 year old loved
> me...but when that second string broke, that was it.
> 
> I guess I could have replaced the second strng for free, but let's
> see..$14 for a string from Mapes and a second trip and install time,
> plus lost income. One may argue that I should have bitten the bullet,
> done the work for free, and kept the customer. But then they expect more
> free work.
> -- 
> 
> Frank Cahill
> Associate Member
> Northern Va
> 

Clyde, Frank, List:

As has been posted here before, sometimes a drop or two of lubricant--
applied witha toothpick, rather than a hypo-oiler, or small brush--can
work wonders when the technician ecounters excessive friction at a
bearing point. 

Les Smith