Chipping )was: String rollers)

[Farrell]

Thanks for the info John. I have a couple questions on some of your points.

"First, I put a little tension on it by lining up the beckets so they're as
neat as possible."

Let me see if I am understanding you correctly. The piano has just been
strung by the rebuilder, but strings left at real low tension. Of course
he/she cut wire accurately so that beckets would line up, but you are just
making any small adjustments by turning the pins to align beckets.???

"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."

Now this is where you are loosing me. Are you suggesting that there is some
way to improve becket alignment during the chipping process? Or are you
simply stating that you are careful to increase tension on string pairs in
such a way that you don't slip the wire around the hitch pin and cause
uneven beckets that way?

"......make sure it still matches the original rubbing......"

Several posts have mentioned string "rubbings" what are these? A recent post
talked of rubbings for bass strings. I have made measurements, and what I
think is appropriately called a scale stick to reposition strings. But what
is a rubbing?

Thanks

Terry Farrell

----- Original Message -----
From: "John Musselwhite" <john@musselwhite.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, October 04, 2001 2:14 PM
Subject: Chipping )was: String rollers)


> 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
>