Margaret wrote:
> I've had modern steel piano wire break at the winding around the tuning pin, or
> while making a loop - no stress yet.  Everybody who strings has seen this.  And
> modern wire is pretty carefully made.
>
Well, margaret, I wouldn't be so sure of modern wire manufacturing. One of
the problems cited in the European industrial research priorities is
quality control for manufacturing steel wire, which presumably includes
steel music wire. Apparently, in the face of very strong Asian
competition, the trade off between quality and efficiency has turned
toward the latter. It's regarded as a very serious problem in
the industry.

Stephen

Stephen Birkett Fortepianos
Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos
464 Winchester Drive
Waterloo, Ontario
Canada N2T 1K5
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