String Replaced

[Kevin E. Ramsey]

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Laura wrote;

    "Now that the Middle C string has been replaced, here is what the =
technician
thought about my Baldwin:  he said it was "not undangerous" to tune =
because
the pins are quite tight, but when they move they move a great amount
unexpectedly.  He thought I probably had that happen."

    A tuning pin that is still tight may give a cracking sound when you =
finally get it to move, but it won't move far enough to break a string. =
Do you have a few pins that are unusually loose for the rest of the =
piano?  If so, you can go to the next tuning pin, thinking that you're =
going to have to give it a mighty yank, like all the rest, and it goes =
zoom! Even then, I doubt that very many people would go too far before =
they stopped pulling on the tuning hammer. Perhaps what really happened =
here, is that the piano has really really tight pins, and over the years =
various tuners have been yanking those tuning pins back and forth trying =
to get that pin in tune. All that flexing of the wire can weaken it.

    "Apparently, there are also two or more cracks in the soundboard, =
which were
repaired earlier, but he also suggested it makes string breakage more
possible; somehow to do with getting the piano pitch to A 440, which was
done two weeks before, but makes for tricky tuning.  Too advanced for =
me,
I'm afraid. "

    First of all, if the cracks have been repaired, then they may as =
well not be there.  I have tuned many pianos that had cracks in the =
soundboards, and they tune just the same as regular pianos. The problem =
with the cracks is they might affect tuning stability (Never had any =
complaints, though) and they can cause buzzes against the ribs.

    "Incidentally, the technician replaced the string in about 20 =
minutes; the
Middle C string passes under the bass strings, which makes the process a
little harder and takes a little more finesse.  (It's also much more
difficult to reach the bridge pins, since they lie under the bass string
section, in order to tap them in.)  However, he noticed the bridges were
made with a graphite treatment/layer for the strings to pass over them =
with
less friction.  I asked him to lubricate them, but he didn't see the =
need
given the graphite layer on the bridges.  Baldwin evidently has a clever
feature there!"

    You mean the bridges you see there don't have graphite on them?  I =
don't think I've ever seen a piano that didn't have that black stuff on =
the bridges. Getting the string back to the hitch pin isn't really a =
problem to any of us either. Why?  Because we're not afraid to get in =
there and move those bass strings to the side if we have to. We'd =
probably touch up the tuning after doing a string replacement anyway, so =
no big deal.

    It's normal to be cautious when learning to tune, but I don't think =
that you should be so concerned. Good luck, and don't worry so much.=20

=20



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