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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Laura, 2 out of the last 3 pianos I =
tuned gave out
ticks coming from the agraffes. Both pianos had been in sort of a =
storage state.
The difference in the metals will cause corrosion at that point. I =
brought out
the Protex and the sound went away. Tight pins give out a loud crack and =
you
will be hard pressed to overpull C4 with a jumpy pin. Maybe C7. I missed =
where
you said the string broke. If it broke at the tuning pin, the string =
didn't
slide at the agraffe. If it broke at the agraffe it was corrosion at =
that point.
Or you were on the wrong pin, but still, you would have to over pull by =
quite a
bit at C4.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Keith</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Laura wrote;</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT =
face="Times New Roman"
size=3>Now that the Middle C string has been replaced, here is what =
the
technician<BR>thought about my Baldwin: he said it was "not =
undangerous"
to tune because<BR>the pins are quite tight, but when they move they =
move a
great amount<BR>unexpectedly. He thought I probably had that
happen.<FONT face=Arial size=2>"</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> A tuning pin that =
is still
tight may give a cracking sound when you finally get it to move, but =
it won't
move far enough to break a string. Do you have a few pins that are =
unusually
loose for the rest of the piano? If so, you can go to the next =
tuning
pin, thinking that you're going to have to give it a mighty yank, like =
all the
rest, and it goes zoom! Even then, I doubt that very many people would =
go too
far before they stopped pulling on the tuning hammer. Perhaps what =
really
happened here, is that the piano has really really tight pins, and =
over the
years various tuners have been yanking those tuning pins back and =
forth trying
to get that pin in tune. All that flexing of the wire can weaken
it.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT =
face="Times New Roman"
size=3>Apparently, there are also two or more cracks in the =
soundboard, which
were<BR>repaired earlier, but he also suggested it makes string =
breakage
more<BR>possible; somehow to do with getting the piano pitch to A 440, =
which
was<BR>done two weeks before, but makes for tricky tuning. Too =
advanced
for me,<BR>I'm afraid. "</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> First of all, if =
the cracks
have been repaired, then they may as well not be there. I have =
tuned
many pianos that had cracks in the soundboards, and they tune just the =
same as
regular pianos. The problem with the cracks is they might affect =
tuning
stability (Never had any complaints, though) and they can cause buzzes =
against
the ribs.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> "<FONT =
face="Times New Roman"
size=3>Incidentally, the technician replaced the string in about 20 =
minutes;
the<BR>Middle C string passes under the bass strings, which makes the =
process
a<BR>little harder and takes a little more finesse. (It's also =
much
more<BR>difficult to reach the bridge pins, since they lie under the =
bass
string<BR>section, in order to tap them in.) However, he noticed =
the
bridges were<BR>made with a graphite treatment/layer for the strings =
to pass
over them with<BR>less friction. I asked him to lubricate them, =
but he
didn't see the need<BR>given the graphite layer on the bridges. =
Baldwin
evidently has a clever<BR>feature there!"</FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> You mean the =
bridges you see
there don't have graphite on them? I don't think I've ever seen =
a piano
that didn't have that black stuff on the bridges. Getting the string =
back to
the hitch pin isn't really a problem to any of us either. Why? =
Because
we're not afraid to get in there and move those bass strings to the =
side if we
have to. We'd probably touch up the tuning after doing a string =
replacement
anyway, so no big deal.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> It's normal to be =
cautious
when learning to tune, but I don't think that you should be so
concerned. Good luck, and don't worry so much. </DIV>
<DIV><BR> <BR></DIV>
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