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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Ed,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The word that I fixsated on was Yamaha. My thinking
is that the wire is brittle due to the closeness of the swedge.</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=ed440@mindspring.com href="mailto:ed440@mindspring.com">Ed Sutton</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 1:18
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Failed string splicing --
charge for time?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>John-</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In this situation you could have used a larger
diameter leader.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I wonder if something in your splice technique is
making a ding in the wire.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Were you splicing in the speaking length, or
above the top bearing bar pin?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ed Sutton</FONT></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 10:16
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></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>