<html> At 05:35 AM 12/17/2000 -0500, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>Jim asks: <<>...is there some >type of jig that can be made so you know exactly where the new strings >will go? Usually, I line them up with the grooves in the old hammers, >maybe a jig would be better.>> Greetings,    I use a jig.  It is a piece of soundboard shim which I lay across the strings, even with the belly rail, indexing it to a plate strut so I can put it back in the original position.  Then I use a pencil to make a mark where every string passes under.  When restringing, I just get all the strings in, pulled up enough to keep coils tight, and then align them to the marks on the shim. Regards, Ed Foote RPT</blockquote> I had a similar situation a month ago on a good old upright.  The bass 'agraffe' section was pins driven into a wooden cap on the exposed block. The whole block had shifted over causing the strings to be far towards the treble. After fashioning a new bearing bar out of Delignit, I registered it in place with two bridge pins. The hammers were not out of place, so by running a string from the corresponding bridge pin through the hammer strike point; I marked where the string intersected the bearing bar. I did this for every string taking into account the string offset bending around the pin. Once I had this mapped out, I noticed slight uneven spacing. So I measured the distance of the end pins of the single strings and double unisons and divided by the number of unisons. Then with a divider I calibrated the distance between the respective notes. I then set the divider for the second string on the bichords. Reinstalling the cap on the register pins and checked for hammer alignment, slick. Patted myself on the back Because of the angle of the single wires I could not drill the cap installed (fearing drill bit drift) so I drilled it on the drill press but not all the way (just to the last layer). I did not want epoxy oozing back up into the holes. I forgot to mention that I epoxy filled the old holes in the block and the ones made by some previous attempt. I levelled that mess to seat my new bearing bar. I used my sound board press (wooden I-beam and spring loaded pressure applicators) to epoxy it in place (jpg's available  :-)     Drilling for the pins through the cap holes was uneventful.   After staining, shellacing and installing the strings, it looked like the factory job. I hate working for relatives, some of my best work is done for a fraction of what it's worth. That's what i get for leaving a space open in my shop. Reagrds, <div>Jon Page,   piano technician</div> <div>Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.</div> <div><a href="mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net" EUDORA=AUTOURL>mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net</a></div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </html>