Instructions for Piano Music Wire: Installation, Care, & More
Nov 02, 2023
Below you will find installation instructions for piano music wire as well as other general information on the strings that could be very important to their life and lasting quality.
About the Product
Plain piano music wire is for the treble range of the piano and comes in different sizes (sizes 13-21). Sizes 0-12 of our plain music wire cannot be used on a piano, but are sometimes used on other instruments. These wires can be purchased in 10' lengths as well as 1/4lb coils, 1/2lb coils, 1/3lb coils, 1lb coils, and as assortments. All of the plain wire is made of steel.
Care
As you are handling piano wire or strings, always wear gloves. The oils and acids in our skin can cause rust and corrosion on strings. Piano wire can rust if not properly taken care of. For example, if you add a treatment other than the Dampp Chaser Humidifier Pad Treatment to your humidifier, the strings could start to corrode. This is because there are acids in other water treatments that are hard on the metal components of a piano. If you make sure that you use the proper supplies for your piano and keep it in a controlled environment, your strings should last longer.
Installing Piano Wire (If Not Replacing the Tuning Pin)
Using a Piano Ratchet Star Head or tuning hammer, turn the tuning pin out of the pin block enough that you have room to wind the string onto the pin. You will want to turn it about three or three and a half times since you want to start out with three coils on the pin before tuning. Make sure that you end with the tuning pin hole in line with the string to make installation easier.
Remember as mentioned above that you should ALWAYS wear gloves while handling the string so as to not damage it. Run the end of the string under the pressure bar and insert it into the the tuning pin hole so that it sticks of of the hole just slightly. To make this process easier, you can use the Piano Stringing Hook to help pull the string out from under the pressure bar (sometimes needle nose pliers are also needed).
Next, hold the string in place. Use your ratchet star head or tuning hammer to turn the pin clockwise while holding the string in place. Use a Coil Lifter and String Spacer to make sure the string stays in the right position. Make about two and a half coils. After this, squeeze the tip of the wire sticking through the pin with parallel pliers to create a bend in the becket (the section of string sticking through the pin).
Guide the remaining string through it’s respective bridge pins and wrap it tightly around the hitch pin. Pull the rest of the string toward the next tuning pin and cut it extra long. Run it through the pressure bar without it getting caught behind other strings or tangled into them. Guide the string through the next set of bridge pins. Making sure the string is tight, pull the remaining string firmly next to the tuning pin it will go on and cut 3" beyond the tuning pin.
Loosen the string (it might come out of the bridge pins), feed it through the tuning pin hole using the same method as before, and wind the string onto it until tight. Bend the becket. Return to the first pin you replaced the wire on and tighten that one as well. Make sure your coils are tight together by pulling up the bottom coils or pushing down the top ones.
Tune the string. You will need to tune the string several times after installing until it finishes stretching. Or, to speed up the process, you can stretch the string with a Piano String Stretching Tool.
To see a more detailed demonstration of this process, watch this video:
https://youtu.be/cPFBHlfwlRA?si=frPtIXHF0vNkIciU
Installing Piano Wire (If Replacing the Tuning Pin)
If you are placing the tuning pin and the string at the same time, you will want to make sure you get the correct size of tuning pin. If the pin you are replacing is not loose, simply go up one size. If the pin is loose, you will need to go up two sizes. To determine the size of the tuning pin you have, take the pin out and measure it with a micrometer.
Remember as mentioned above that you should ALWAYS wear gloves while handling the string so as to not damage it. Insert your new tuning pin into the Piano Tuning Pin Coil Maker, insert the freshly cut wire end into the tuning pin hole, and set the long section of the wire against the set screw. Make sure the wire end only sticks out of the tuning pin hole a slight amount. Then, using a Piano Stringing Crank (Tuning Pin Crank), turn the pin about two and a half turns. Hold the wire onto the pin as you pull the pin out of the coil maker.
Pound the tuning pin into its place in the sound board. Guide the string under the pressure bar, it’s respective bridge pins, and wrap it tightly around the hitch pin. Pull the rest of the string toward the next tuning pin and cut it extra long. Run it through the pressure bar without it getting caught behind other strings or tangled into them. Guide the string through the next set of bridge pins. Making sure the string is tight, pull the remaining string firmly next to the tuning pin it will go on and cut 3" beyond the tuning pin.
Loosen the string (it might come out of the bridge pins), feed it through the tuning pin hole using the same method as before, and wind the string onto it until tight. Bend the
becket. Return to the first pin you replaced the wire on and tighten that one as well. Make sure your coils are tight together by pulling up the bottom coils or pushing down the top ones.
Tune the string. You will need to tune the string several times after installing until it finishes stretching. Or, to speed up the process, you can stretch the string with a Piano String Stretching Tool.
To see a more detailed demonstration of this process, watch this video:
https://youtu.be/FunRnxreKs4?si=JmH5f08KlwgX-Ite
All underlined tools and parts in these instructions are available at: HowardPianoIndustries.com.
