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MAY
6, 1922
THE
11
MUSIC TRADE REVIEW
OurHCHNICAL DEPARTMENT
CONDUCTED BY WILLIAM BRAID WHITE
RE=STRINQ1NG OLD PIANOS
Brother Bowman Gives Some New Ideas and
Showeth Ye Editor Where He (Ye Editor) Is
Slightly Wrong in Some of His Statements
Brother Bowman submits the following and
says that I can use it if I like. Well, of course,
I like. Likewise, he says it is not intended as a
criticism. To which I says, says I, that I do not
mind if it is, for it is good stuff. However, there
are some points which I shall take upon myself
to answer. Meanwhile here goes the Echo from
Virginia:
"Dear Mr. White: In the last issue of The Re-
view I note you give your method of stringing a
piano. I was very much interested and read the
article very carefully, and, if you will allow me
the privilege, I should like to submit my method
of stringing, which has been very successful,
and of which, perhaps, the gentleman from Phila-
delphia and others might wish to know.
"This is not intended as a criticism of any
method differing from mine. I think your sug-
gestions are excellent and will bring fine re-
sults. So will mine. I note you arc calling for
letters, therefore I shall swing in line.
"First—I remove the bass strings, but do not
send those to the string maker. I take a roll of
eighteen-inch-wide wallpaper and, after placing
the piano on an incline preparatory for stringing,
I stretch the paper carefully over the diagram
of the bass and press down gently on hitch pins
and bridge pins, also on upper bridge and tuning
pins. Then with a soft lead pencil I make a
small imprint at each place mentioned, then cut
off a short piece of the upper bass string and
lower string also and send it with the paper
machine and make a liberal commission.
Free Instruction manual. Price of complete outfit, $12.50. Send
for details.
LEABARJAN MFG. CO.
HAMILTON, O.
DEAGAN TUNING FORKS
folded in an official size envelope for four or
six cents. The strings always come back the
exact length and size, the same as when they
were first made in the factory.
"This method was at the string maker's own
suggestion and I found it O. K. Great care must
he the motto in taking the impressions on paper,
hut it is easily and quickly done, and much bet-
ter than shipping the old strings.
"Instead of beginning at the treble end, as you
suggest, I begin at the lower end, next the bass,
as I have always seen stringers do In the fac-
tories, and instead of removing all the old strings
I remove only one octave of strings, then put on
new strings in that section, drawing them right
up to, and a little over, the desired pitch, then
remove old ones from next octave and put in
new until all are in.
"In that way I do not release enough strain
at one time to affect plate or sound board and the
new strings replace the tension at once which
was removed with the octave of old strings.
"Then the bass strings are placed, beginning
with the upper part of bass section, and I draw
them up entirely to the desired pitch. I have
never had any bad results from removing all
bass strings quickly and leaving them until new
strings arrive.
"When all strings are on I chip them once
or twice only, then tune the piano a little above
the pitch desired. I let it stand until next day,
then tune again; then, if possible, in a week or
ten days I go over it thoroughly again and have
no further trouble. Sometimes I do not sec the
piano for a year after and then usually find the
pitch has fallen very little.
"I do not even use any special method to
stretch the strings after I put them on. In
no case have I ever tuned the piano more than
three times.
"In placing new strings in an old piano, either
in bass or above, I usuallv draw them a half-
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step higher than the desired pitch, let them rest
at that until I am through with the piano, then
gradually let them down to a point a little above
the desired pitch, keeping the string pulling on
the spring side of the pin, with the pin pulling
the string upward, and leaving it at that. Often
I do not see the piano for a year or more and it is
surprising how little the string has settled below
the normal pitch. Sincerely, J. M. Bowman,
Harrisonburg, Va."
Answer
1. As regards the matter of taking a paper im-
pression of the bass strings in place of sending
the entire set, there is something to be said on
both sides. The bass string maker will prob-
ably be better pleased with the paper impression
because it will make his task a little easier when
he comes to mark the lengths out before winding
the covering wire on the core. My desire in
suggesting that the bass strings be sent in as
taken off was to give the operator no problem
to solve with which he might be expected not to
be familiar. To take the paper impression is not
very difficult, but one can make mistakes in doing
it, with results usually unfortunate.
2. There is no advantage whatever in begin-
ning at the lower end of the treble. The string-
ers in the factory begin wherever they please,
though more often at the treble end than else-
where. The stringer ought not Jo pull up the
strings so as to put any considerable strain on
the plate. That is the chipper's work.
3. I do not like the idea of taking off the old
wire in sections and replacing it in the same
way. I do not like it because it prevents the
repairer from cleaning the sound board, bridges,
pins and plate, or from tightening the plate bolts.
Nearly always an old piano should be cleaned
and tightened up in this way and unless the
strings are all taken off this cannot be done.
4. I have no further criticism to make of any
of Brother Bowman's suggestions. He is a good
workman.
The Saving Chalk
However, I should like to make one point
which, perhaps, was not sufficiently discussed in
the original article. This refers to the treat-
ment of the pins and the pin-block. In the first
place, if the block is very old the holes in which
the pins have been working will probably be
ground out till they are too large to afford
proper security to the pins. In this case it is
necessary to use a larger pin. Restringing jobs
on old pianos may be rendered secure against
later difficulties only when this point has been
well attended to in advance.
Furthermore, it is well once more to remind
those who are not accustomed to handling tun-
ing pins and music wire that both these articles
must be constantly protected from the perspira-
tion of the operator's hands. No method of
(Continued on page 12)
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