At 12:29 PM 10/4/01 -0400, Terry wrote: >Just what the heck is chipping? Rough tuning while plucking? Is there >something inherently different about bringing a freshly strung piano up to >pitch and in rough tune than doing a several-step pitch-raise? I believe there is. To illustrate the difference for me, this is what I do when chipping a freshly strung piano, which I do about once a month or so. I use the SAT with a little battery-powered Radio Shack speaker plugged into it and just use the tone from the fourth octave's notes to set all the octaves. First, I put a little tension on it by lining up the beckets so they're as neat as possible. Then I start at A4 with my 3-inch long hardwood pick/chip, pulling up string pairs evenly with no overpull keeping the beckets aligned, and work by octaves first down, then up then back down, again watching the beckets. I then tune the A#s the same way, then down to the G#s, working my way up and down the keyboard. After the first pass I lightly tap down hitch pins and coils with a brass punch and squeeze the strings slightly (with non-serrated duck bills) at the hitch pins. Then I double-check the paper pattern for the treble if there is one to make sure it still matches the original rubbing and tap any strings that are out of alignment back into place. Then I do a second pass with no overpull except in the high treble, again keeping an eye on the beckets, though they're usually still pretty good. Once the dampers and action are in I go over it from A0 to C8 with a similar "generic" tuning stored in the SAT. I don't use any more overpull than I'd use on a regular tuning to minimize string necking. After it's rough regulated, I do it again, then again before it's voiced and once more when it's finished. I've found this method stabilizes the instrument quickly without overtaxing any of the structure. It also saves me the wrath of the rebuilder who was careful in getting the beckets aligned when he was stringing it! B-}) Oh... in keeping with the subject line, I have my English grandfather's roller but I don't use it. I have rubbed high treble strings gently with a hammershank when needed though. >What is the >difference between chipping a piano up to pitch and raising the pitch of an >old upright that is 5 whole steps below standard pitch???? Well, in addition to the above there's the exhorbitant amount of money the client has spent getting their cherished piano carefully rebuilt as opposed to the few dollars the client may have saved by not having their crappy old upright serviced properly in the first place! But hey... if they want to pay me what I get paid for chipping a piano my way I'll be more than happy to do it. It'll be the same deal as in the shop, though. Broken strings, loose pins, splitting bridges and bad or popped agraffes are their responsibility, not mine. On a piano as bad as you describe that would include pieces falling off the action and keys as they're removed not to mention cleaning the mouse residue out of what used to be a musical instrument. That shouldn't bring the total bill past six or seven thousand dollars, wouldn't you say? John John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada http://www.musselwhite.com http://canadianpianopage.com/calgary mailto:john@musselwhite.com http://www.mp3.com/fatbottom
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