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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A href="mailto:kellybill_m@hotmail.com" =
title=kellybill_m@hotmail.com>Kelly
& Bill</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org"
title=pianotech@ptg.org>Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, February 27, =
2002 4:57
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Replacing Spinet =
Strings</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>List,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>What is the easiest way to =
replace a
broken string in a spinet action provided it cannot be spliced? =
I just
did this on a 1970 Hobart M. Cable Spinet on C8 - probably the =
easiest
one in the piano and it was a great struggle. I do not look =
forward to
dealing with the overstrung section of a spinet. I did it with =
the
action still in the piano. Is there an easier way or some =
invented tool
to simplify the procedure?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>Thanks,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>William R. =
Monroe</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2>Salt Lake City</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2> Yeah, =
it's not
easy. I remove the action bolt nuts so I can at least pull the =
action
back as far as it will go (remove soft pedal rod). The paper =
clip idea
works. I've often wished I had a "forked screwdriver", like a =
long
skinny dandelion digger, but haven't bothered to make one yet (another =
tool to
carry, although I could leave it in the car). This would =
help for
pushing the hitch pin loop down, but so far I've gotten by with the =
stringing
hook and a long thin (9 in.) spring hook. I measure first, then =
make the
hitch pin bend, then pre-wind the coils with a coil winder (tuning pin =
in a
little block of hardwood and a tuning pin crank, Schaff item =
#109). Then
I poke the "pre-formed" string down behind the pressure bar (sometimes =
have to
curl the hitch-pin bend end) and fish it through with the stringing
hook. Here's where you would fasten the hitch pin end to a =
neighboring
string with a paper clip. Then use a forked screwdriver or hook =
or stick
to push it down, or reach up from underneath the action with a =
hook to
pull it down, until you can get the bend over the hitch pin and fasten =
it with
vise-grips or a hemostat or other clamp. Then put the =
coils over
the tuning pins and finish up. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2> If you =
prefer to get
the string over the hitch pin first, then the curtain rod tool can be =
used (it
has to be flattened a little first) or the =
two-1/8"-tubes-epoxied-to-a-slat
tool. But then you can't have the coils pre-wound. Well, =
maybe
with the curtain rod you can. To poke the string up behind the =
pressure
bar from the bottom, I still use one of the first tools I made -- it's =
a
depleted ball point pen refill (brass tube) that's bent into a =
question mark
shape. This can be inserted behind the pressure bar from the =
top, then
the string poked into the tube, then push the string up while =
withdrawing the
pen refill tube.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2> The whole =
ordeal can
be hard on the back. Pause often to bend back the other =
way; sit
on the floor if necessary; bend knees rather than stooping,
etc. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2> If there =
were many
broken strings, or they were in the overstrung area, or the =
strings
needed seating on the bridges anyhow, I would definitely take the =
action
out. Ssome spinets are easier than others as far as popping =
out all
the lifter wires and putting them back in. I hope you do have =
the
sectional rod that screws together to make one long rod. =
And I'll
admit there are a few spinets where you have to take the keys out to =
get the
action out because bridle wires and backchecks hang up too much on the =
forks
on the ends of the keys.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Book Antiqua" size=2> Hope it =
doesn't
happen often.
=
Sincerely, David Nereson, RPT, =
Denver</FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>