<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2769" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>There are quite a few of the cheaper spinets have this problem from the manufacturer. American and Canadian ones, made around the 70's.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>It appears that the holes for the pins in the bass, did not have enough of an angle on them, to accommodate the angle of the string.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>I thought I could fix this problem once, by backing off the string, removing the coil, and backing out the pin. Guess what, it didn't work, as the string, had already been weakened at that spot. They broke anyway.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>Another reason it could have happened, is, hammering the pins in deeper, to gain a bit more friction, for loose pins.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>I now try to remember, to look for this problem, and point out to the customer, that some strings may break, due to the construction of the piano.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>They don't always believe me, since none have broken, so far. They don't realize that because they left it so long, and I have to do a pitch raise, that they exasperated the problem. You can't explain it to the ones that don't want to believe.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT face=Arial size=3>The fix, plug, and rebore the holes. So far no one has taken me up on the fix.</FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>John M. Ross<BR>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada<BR><A href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</A></FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE 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=davespianotuning@earthlink.net href="mailto:davespianotuning@earthlink.net">Dave McKibben</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, October 30, 2005 12:02 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> acrosonic string breakage</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <P> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> <DIV>List:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I just tuned a Baldwin acrosonic that by S/N was 15 years old, but it appeared to be older.</DIV> <DIV>My question revolves around the attached picture ( as best I could draw the problem ).</DIV> <DIV>The strings A2, A#2, G2, G#2, F2,F#2 and C3 all broke when doing an 80-100 cent pitch raise.</DIV> <DIV>I warned the owner that I could tune it to less than A440 to help reduce string breakage but she wanted it at A440 so she could play with other instruments.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>All the strings were on the bottom row of tuning pins, which creates a steeper angle to the Vbar.</DIV> <DIV>The angle to the Vbar was so great, that the last coil on the pin was trying to cut across the previous adjacent coil on the tuning pin.  ( see pic ).</DIV> <DIV>It appeared to me THAT is why the strings broke, each one right at the pin coil.</DIV> <DIV>It did NOT appear that the pins were pounded in, creating a steeper angle.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My question is:</DIV> <DIV>Is this normal pin / string coil configuration for acrosonics?</DIV> <DIV>has anyone seen this before, and what might the problem and fix be?</DIV> <DIV>I'm sure someone on here knows the answer !</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Thanks much</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Dave McKibben</DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P></P> <P> <HR> <P></P>_______________________________________________<BR>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>