[pianotech] Breaking bass string

[Wally Scherer]

My customer has a 1920's era player, upright. The strings are old, but still tunable. The low F# had been replaced by a previous tuner - it was the only one still copper colored. However, when I went to tune it, it broke. (I had tuned the piano about 3 years previously and it didn't break then.) There were no signs of rust on the broken string.

The F# that broke has a core diameter of .049" and an outside (single wrapped) diameter of .165".

The F below it has a core diameter of .050 and od of .173.

The G above it has a core diameter of .049 and od of .146.

So, the measurements seem like a suitable progression.

I am guessing that when it was replaced before, the same measurements were kept, which may have resulted in too high a tension for that string, hence its breaking in the first place.

Maybe I should order one with the same core diameter, and an od of around .160".

Any other opinions?

A FINE TUNE - Piano Tuning & Repairs
Wallace T. Scherer, piano technician, music educator
5020 Canal Drive, Lake Worth, Florida, 33463-8014
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