<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: string termination</title></head><body> <div>Terry,</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">Ron - a typo? Do you mean the new plating thickness will be 0.075 mm (3 thou)?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>Yes that was a typo. The plating thickness is 0.075 mm, or 3 thou. A zero went missing in haste.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> Why then not make a agraffe out of steel or some other harder material?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>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?</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> 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?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>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.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> Why would brass persist so long?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>It should be bypassed for the purpose of string terminations. Its a very poor material for the purpose.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> \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?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>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.</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1">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?"</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>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).</div> <div><br></div> <blockquote type="cite" cite><font face="Arial" size="-1"> 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?</font></blockquote> <div><br></div> <div>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.</div> <div><br></div> <div>Ron O.</div> <x-sigsep><pre>-- </pre></x-sigsep> <div><font face="Times New Roman" size="+1" color="#0000FF"><b>OVERS PIANOS - SYDNEY</b></font></div> <div><font color="#000000"><i>   </i></font><font color="#0000FF"><i>Grand Piano Manufacturers</i></font><font color="#000000"><br> _______________________</font></div> <div><font size="-2" color="#000000"><br> </font><font color="#000000">Web http://overspianos.com.au</font></div> <div><font color="#000000">mailto:ron@overspianos.com.au<br> _______________________</font></div> </body> </html>