Baldwin 248 breaking strings

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mike Bratcher" <MBratPianos@Indy.rr.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, June 27, 2004 7:42 PM
Subject: Baldwin 248 breaking strings


Hey folks (at least the ones that are still home)

I have a newer Baldwin 248 that is breaking strings.  The piano is I think 4
years old.  The first thing I had to do was replace the low treble wound
strings.  These are the first 6 strings on the long bridge.  They had the
windings resting about a half inch above the "V" bar.  I can't believe this
thing mad it out of the factory.  Baldwin to their credit replaced them, but
the customer paid for the labor.  None of these 6 replacement strings has
broke.

Anyway, now this piano has a habit of breaking strings.  They are scattered
around the piano, meaning different wire sizes have broke.  They all break
at the hitch pin.  And they all have broke with no outside influence,
meaning not during tuning or playing.  In fact they were remodeling and had
the piano covered up for months with no one playing.  There is no rust
anywhere.  I have examined the wire at the breaks, and nothing jumped out at
me.  I know this piano is rarely played and she is not a beater.

The customer is concerned, and frankly  I don't have an explanation for her.

Any thoughts?

Mike Bratcher

    It's extremely rare for strings to break at the the hitch pin.  If they
were asleep enough at the factory to put wound strings on that had the
windings extending up under the pressure bar, or V bar (is a 248 a vertical
or grand?), then they could have been asleep enough to do anything -- like
use the wrong gauge wire, or bend it too severely at the hitch pin, or maybe
seat the strings too aggressively at the hitch pin, causing a nick and
weakening the wire. . . . do you see any nicks in the wire on other hitch
pin bends?  That's all I can think of.  By the way, it's "break, broke,
broken."  Strings break today.  I break strings.  Yesterday they broke.  In
the past, many have broken.  This one is also broken.  Sorry, but I just
can't stand to hear "have broke."
    --David Nereson, RPT