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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi John,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>With the concert use and distance. I would not
replace the string, but alter the damper head to control sustain.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I have never been able to splice a Yamaha bass
string. The swedge seems to be too close to where the knot is,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>and the string breaks again every time. But still I
try to splice.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV>Joe Goss RPT<BR>Mother Goose Tools<BR><A
href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR><A
href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com">www.mothergoosetools.com</A></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=formsma@gmail.com href="mailto:formsma@gmail.com">John Formsma</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, April 18, 2008 8:16
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Failed string splicing -- charge
for time?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>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?<BR
clear=all><BR>
<DIV>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:</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>
<OL>
<LI>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.<BR>
<LI>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).
<LI>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.
<LI>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. </LI></OL>
<DIV><BR></DIV>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!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>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.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>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 <SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-STYLE: italic">never</SPAN> rule <SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="TEXT-DECORATION: underline"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-STYLE: italic"><SPAN class=Apple-style-span
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">me</SPAN></SPAN></SPAN> out of the equation.
<G></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>What would you have done in this instance?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I am looking forward to being further enlightened. :-) All tricks
and tips would be appreciated. Thanks in advance.</DIV>
<DIV><BR>-- <BR>JF<BR><BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>