string termination

[Overs Pianos]

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Terry,

>Ron - a typo? Do you mean the new plating thickness will be 0.075 mm (3 thou)?

Yes that was a typo. The plating thickness is 0.075 mm, or 3 thou. A 
zero went missing in haste.

>  Why then not make a agraffe out of steel or some other harder material?

I made a custom set of agraffes for a Steinway D we rebuilt for the 
ABC in 1998. I made them from SAE 1040 steel, which is considerably 
harder than free machining brass. We plated the 1040 agraffes with 2 
thou of electroless nickel (and hardened the nickel plating to 60 
Rockwell). These agraffes were without doubt the cleanest sounding 
set of agraffes we've ever done. I haven't made any others since 
then. Can you imagine how much effort it is to turn and machine up a 
set of these things using a screw cutting lathe and a milling 
attachment?

>  That may be difficult for the one-off small-shop piano builder, but 
>if there were a demand to others..... Why would this be so difficult?

The cost in machining agraffes from something harder would probably 
make manufacturers shy away from using the harder material. Mind you, 
with today's ceramic cutting tools the task would be more do-able 
than it was.

>  Why would brass persist so long?

It should be bypassed for the purpose of string terminations. Its a 
very poor material for the purpose.

>  \Why not use other termination types like a capo-type bar in all 
>string sections like you see on cheap old American microgrands? What 
>about something more like an upright pressure bar arrangement?

These would certainly work, but it would give the high enders a bit 
of an agricultural look wouldn't it? And after all, the piano 
business is as much about perceived fashion than practically. I just 
can't see the higher enders taking up full compass capo bars any time 
soon. Mind you, Stuart has done just that with a full set of agraffes 
mounted in the underside of the bar. Its is a workable solution.

>Hardened bridge pins would be costly? I can see such an argument 
>from a Chinese manufacturer, but from a famous American or European 
>manufacturer who "spares no expense to create an uncompromised 
>instrument?"

That's just the thing Terry, the high enders claim that they don't 
spare expense (the brochures tend to be full of cheap sales chat), 
but its all over the instrument. They would be seem to be pretty 
careful not to get into anything too difficult (which would put the 
price of production up).

>  I realize that if a pin costs a nickel or dime rather than two 
>cents, times 500 pins, that would increase the cost of building the 
>piano by $15 - $40....... or am I missing something? Or are the 
>upper-end larger, uncompromising, manufacturers really that cheap?

I suspect they just might be. But then again, the high enders who 
remain are the ones who have actually survived the slings and arrows 
of economic fortune. Its easy for us to criticise what we perceive to 
be cost cutting, but those who didn't do it haven't survived.

Ron O.
-- 
OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY
    Grand Piano Manufacturers
_______________________

Web http://overspianos.com.au
mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
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