<html> <body> And how much DOES he charge? I haven't seen it posted! Avery At 04:51 PM 12/3/04, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">"occasionally strings break, but I carry spares and they are easy to replace."    "Then why do you charge so much to replace them", the piano owner asks.....   Terry Farrell <dl> <dd>----- Original Message ----- <dd>From: <a href="mailto:mkurta@adelphia.net">Mike Kurta</a> <dd>To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</a> <dd>Sent: Friday, December 03, 2004 3:23 PM <dd>Subject: Re: How to avoid breaking a string... <dd>    I have tuned many pianos several semitones flat by overpulling way above pitch in one pass without breakage.  We've all seen older uprights that were nothing but a ball of rust, and no breakage.  It also happens that fairly new instruments will break a string by barely moving the pin. <dd>    Every piano I junk, I tighten each string to the breaking point just to see what it takes to make it fail.  Often the pin rotates 1/2 turn before the string lets go.  On other occasions (sometimes within the same piano) just touching the string will make it snap. <dd>    My conclusion is that there is no rhyme or reason and no predicting string breakage.  I also believe there is no cure-all method to avoid string breakage.  I've tried letting down tension first, lubrication of various types, hammer technique, etc, and they still may let go.  Fortunately, it doesn't happen that often, and if in doubt, I mention to the customer that "occasionally strings break, but I carry spares and they are easy to replace."  This opens the possibility to the customer, but minimizes the seriousness.  <dd>    Mike Kurta <dd>    Auburn, NY </dl></blockquote></body> </html>