[pianotech] hammers or strings?

[Porritt, David]

When you have a string breaker, there is nothing to do but replace the capo section strings every few years.  Check the capo profile it may or may not be the problem.  The capo is where all the sharp bending occurs when it's played that hard.

dp

David M. Porritt, RPT
dporritt at smu.edu


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Lee Morton
Sent: Monday, January 11, 2010 6:46 AM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] hammers or strings?

       I have a customer with 5 grands and he is a stringbreaker.  Most 
of his grands have suffered from 1-4 broken strings,
but the current problem is a Model B (1982) which is shedding strings  
in bunches....all in the upper 2 treble areas.  This
piano has its original lacquered hammers, moderately cut, and now it's 
second set of treble strings.  I did not  put the replacement
strings on it so I do not know their origin.  I always use Roslau and 
rarely in my 42 years of piano servicing have I had any
string breakage.  Certainly not to this extent.

      The question I face is this:  The underside of the capo bar is, in 
my opinion, too sharp a profile.  (The strings are all being
chopped off at the bar.)  Should I propose stripping the piano down to 
the agraffes, dressing the underbar with emory paper
to a more gentle curve, and restringing the top 2 sections with Roslau. 
  Or replace the hammers with new hammers, properly
shaped and properly voiced.  Or both?
                                                                         
                           Lee Morton
                                                                         
                           lee at leemortonpianos.com