Failed string splicing -- charge for time?

[Paul T Williams]

John,

Do you charge a minimum fee for those few pianos that nothing can be done? 
Especially if far from home....  Does the Maytag man charge you when 
he/she comes and the dishwasher is shot and you'll have to buy another? 
You should by all means charge something for your efforts, otherwise, 
you're just cheating yourself!

Paul




"John Formsma" <formsma at gmail.com> 
Sent by: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org
04/18/2008 09:23 AM
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Failed string splicing -- charge for time?






What do you do when you attempt a string splice and it fails upon raising 
it to pitch? Do you charge for your time generally? And specifically, what 
would you do in the scenario described below?

The piano was a Yamaha P22.  The first wound string in the tenor (D#3) 
broke during the tuning. Piano will be used in the next few days for a 
Music Festival of some sort.  As I was weighing string splicing versus 
string replacement in this circumstance, I considered the following:

1.      The piano is about 55 miles away-- too far to return just to 
retune the one string, and not in my normal route where I could stop by 
after a day of work.
2.      I have universals, but didn't want to use one in this (nicer) 
piano. I was also concerned about string stabilization -- would rather do 
a splice when possible (particularly in this instance since it will be 
used in the next few days).
3.      Since the broken string was the first wound string in the tenor, I 
did not see a safe way to mute that string if it were replaced, since any 
arrangement of double muting (or whatever) might result in the mute 
falling into the action.
4.      Therefore, it seemed that the best option (for the customer as 
well as me) was to splice because it would be the quickest to stabilize. 
Whatever pitch drop that occurred after all attempts at stabilization 
would have to be endured, since it was so far away, but at least a splice 
would drop less than a new string.

When I raised the spliced string to pitch, everything was looking great. 
The splice held, I squeezed the coil (to death) with vice grips, and 
pounded on the string for about two minutes. trying to stabilize things as 
much as possible. The core wire was 0.037", and the first splice attempt 
was using a 0.038" leader.  Finished the tuning, and was doing some 
last-minute stabilization right before leaving. Bam!  The splice breaks 
just above the knot on the leader wire -- and I was less than two beats 
above where the pitch was supposed to be.  Grrrr!

Second attempt. I was thinking, Well, maybe the tension was too high at 
that point for the slightly larger wire. So I tried again with 0.037" core 
wire. It was looking good at first, got up to pitch initially, then I 
lowered the pitch to tighten up the coils slightly. Upon raising pitch 
again, it broke too -- at the same place, right above the knot.

The only other option now obviously is to replace the string, which means 
two trips if the string is to be retuned. In this instance, I felt 
justified in the string splicing attempts.  Nevertheless, I felt bad about 
charging the customer for my time when both attempts failed. So I didn't 
charge for any time. Generally, my splices hold.  So I don't think that 
technique is the problem.  However, I never rule me out of the equation. 
<G>

What would you have done in this instance?

I am looking forward to being further enlightened. :-)   All tricks and 
tips would be appreciated.  Thanks in advance.

-- 
JF

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