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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Comments interspersed below: =
</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>>> Carl Meyer =
wrote:</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>> Ron O =
replied:</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM>>>A lot of things about =
string
terminations have bugged me for some time.<BR>> <BR>> Me too. This =
is a
topic which raises the level of pianotech list interest.<BR>> =
<BR>>>Ron
Overs promotes hardening of the capo bar, yet the agraffe is a
<BR>>>relatively soft material (brass). The difference is =
that the
capo <BR>>>is straight and the agraffe is round. Wouldn't =
the
agraffe last <BR>>>longer if it were heavily plated with chrome, =
nickel
or??<BR>> <BR>> It would last longer if it was plated with a hard =
or
harden-able <BR>> material. I think brass is a very poor material for =
string
<BR>> terminations. After re-profiling (both new and used agraffes) =
we have
<BR>> been plating them with Electroless Nickel for some years (since =
about
<BR>> 1996). This plating is harden-able, and it plates with a =
uniform
<BR>> thickness in the string holes. Normal electoplating won't =
result in a
<BR>> uniform build-up of plating in the holes, which is why Chrome =
isn't a
<BR>> viable alternative plating material. Electroless Nickel plating =
is a
<BR>> process which, once started, is a purely chemical plating =
process.
<BR>> This is why it results in a useful build of plating in the
holes.<BR>> <BR>> For the most recently remanufactured piano we =
built, I
decided to try <BR>> just shaping the brass agraffe holes without =
plating and
hardening. <BR>> The results were very disappointing. The best =
results we
have had to <BR>> date are when the agraffes are Electonickel plated. =
We've
been <BR>> getting them plated with a thickness of 0.05 mm (2 thou). =
The next
<BR>> set we do will be plated with 0.75 mm to increase the strength =
of the
<BR>> plated surface. I have been suspicious that the plating is on =
<BR>>
occasion collapsing and flaking off, due to collapse of the soft =
<BR>> brass
substrate.</EM></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><EM></EM></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ron - a typo? Do you mean the new =
plating thickness
will be 0.075 mm (3 thou)?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> </DIV>
<DIV>Why then not make a agraffe out of steel or some other harder =
material?
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? Why =
would
brass persist so long?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>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?<BR><EM> <BR>SNIP<BR> <BR>>>Here's my
question: A vibrating string has two terminations. It is
<BR>>>excited in the northern direction. (Ignore the strike
point) What <BR>>>effect on tone will be the termination of =
the two
ends of the <BR>>>string????? Both north, one north and the other =
south,
east or <BR>>>west???? Or no big
difference??<BR>>><BR>>>I have recently found plans on the =
net to
build an led stroboscope. <BR>>>I will build this and look at a =
string
under vibration. I could <BR>>>stretch a wire across my garage and =
look at
it with different <BR>>>terminations.<BR>>><BR>>>If =
some of
you deep thinkers have an answer to my question that <BR>>>makes =
common
sense, I won't have to do this. Give me your feedback.<BR>> =
<BR>> It
is a worthy field of investigation Carl. Conventional bridge pins =
<BR>>
suffer severe damage at the termination point. An intermediate <BR>> =
solution
would be hardened bridge pins, but it will be a costly <BR>>
exercise.</EM></DIV>
<DIV><EM></EM> </DIV>
<DIV>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?" 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?</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>