string termination

[Overs Pianos]

Hi Ron,

>>  Conventional bridge pins suffer severe damage at the termination 
>>point. An intermediate solution would be hardened bridge pins, but 
>>it will be a costly exercise.
>>
>>Ron O.
>
>Hi Ron,
>It's true that speaking side bridge pins wear more than back side 
>pins, but back side pins wear as well. I think cyclic dimensional 
>changes of conventional bridge capping is responsible for at least 
>half the wear we see in these pins. Better capping material would, I 
>think, be the first step with tougher pins as the next if it still 
>seemed necessary.
>
>Ron N

Yes, I would have agreed with that also. But recently, a few days 
after stringing the Overs-Kawai piano, I pulled some agraffes for a 
second hole re-profile (this piano is the recently rebuilt one which 
didn't get the agraffes electro-nickel plated). A couple of notes in 
the C52 area were driving me nuts with agraffe string noise. I 
examined the bridge pins while the strings were off and was shocked 
at the marked deformation of the new bridge pins from the wire after 
only a few days at tension.

I photographed the bridge pin damage using extension bellows on the 
SLR camera. The plan was to share these images with the Pianotech 
community, but I haven't scanned them yet.

So while I still share your view that we need the most stable and 
strong bridge capping material, the side draft pressure on the pins 
when combined with the string-drag on the pin when the piano is 
pulled to pitch and rubbed down, would seem to be doing considerable 
damage to the pins even before climate cycling issues do their thing.

Ron O.
-- 
OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY
    Grand Piano Manufacturers
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Web http://overspianos.com.au
mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au
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