hammering / stringing

in the first photo below, i am pictured hammering end pins into the rear of one of the instruments.  end pins (hitch pins) are wonderful things.  if you’ve ever tried to string a piano string on a homemade instrument with a nail or screw at one end, then you know how flimsy those actually are.  they bend under any pressure at all.  end pins are solid steel(?), and absolutely un-pliable.  a big shot out to mike gil of seattle, aka blind mike’s piano service, for providing me with the piano string and end pins for this project.

in the later 3 photos below, i am stringing the instruments.  finding the right tension is a balance between getting it tight and not bowing the soundboard, since the harp is no longer present to withstand the high tension of the strings.

 

Advertisement