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Even if you have them lined up well, the order in which the strings are pulled to pitch makes a difference in how the beckets will aim. Generally, pulling the first shared string will mean that you pull the second one less. But if you are consistent, they should line up pretty well.

Having all the beckets line up is not that much of a problem. The stringer has to be aware that various sizes of wire will have slightly differing lengths to achieve becket/ tuning pin lineup.

Not important that they are, lined up, just looks neat and tidy. A skill learned in the old European way; repeating the process over and over.

When they are lined up it makes the tuning hammer transfer so much nicer.

it can be computed using the diameter of the pin and wire , plus the stretch the string will have when at pitch .

the difference is about 1/5 turn between the thickest and the thinnest strings. just stretch varies from 0.5 to 4 mm

Thank you all for your comments. I am reading that it is a goal, but minor variation is to be expected. The coils, when I restring my folk guitar, generally come out looking like crap, and that is 100 X easier than the piano restringing I guess. I tip my hat to you guys doing this kind of beautiful work.

Best regards-

Russian aircraft's designer Tupolev said this:
"Beautiful plane flies well"

In line beckets is a leftover from oblong pins. It is a beautiful thing to see rows of oblong pins in groups of six to all intents and purposes perfectly still in line with each other at a convenient tuning angle of 1.30. This, in one case after 100 years of 4xpa tuning, in another more recent case 150 years according to company records.

This makes absolute sense when we consider the strings and pins were installed by somebody who did the same thing for 40-50 years and subsequently tuned by well trained tuners who were well aware that the less they did, the more stable the piano. They were both solidly at 440. I gained a firmer grasp of piano tuning from tuning one of those four times a year.

To have modern square pins in line and the star tip in line with the handle can take several minutes off a tuning. Not that I time myself though I can't help but notice the difference in hi security venues the time difference between signing in and signing out.

Greetings,
Consistency is a desirable quality in a piano stringer. I want to know that the pins are all in the same distance, the curvature is aligned the same, and that as many things as possible be consistent. When I see all the beckets within a narrow range, it is proof that a stringer was being consistent, and I rarely see this in a sub-standard rebuild. I also rarely see a credible restringing where the beckets are the only thing that is inconsistent. If the hitchpin loops look like a disaster, the coils are usually no better, and the beckets are not even a consideration.
In and of themselves, the beckets are not important, but consistent ones leave the hammer in the same angle from note to note, string deflection consistent, and indicate that someone was taking care with their work. I strive for it, but I don't sweat the occasional stray and I don't pull wire around hitch and bridge pins after tensioning it, just to make the beckets exact.
Regards,

Hi all - I got interested in this topic a long time back when I tuned a piano which had been restrung by an out of state rebuilder. The beckets were nearly perfectly aligned, and with my string cutting technique (using the old hand width measurement standard) my beckets never looked that uniform, not by a long shot.

Anyway, on my next restringing, I started working on more precision, and over time got to the point where my beckets are very uniform.

If you would like to look over my methods, which add probably a minute per string to the process, check out this article I wrote up for Schaff - that is if you haven't seen it before. I hope it is helpful. Chuck

The problem is that a minute per string adds up to about 4 hours. But practice makes for consistency, as well as speed.

Hi BDB - You're counting pins to come up with that figure, I presume. I'm counting strings - each treble string being connected to two pins.

But really, it's just a guesstimate on my part. I would guess that for the entire piano, the process adds an hour or two to the total time as compared to just yanking each string tight and chopping it off at a hand's width.

I know that every time I do a job like this, the first few strings and pins seem to go slow, but as I get into a rhythm, I pick up speed.

One thing I try to do is to always lay the tools down in exactly the same spot, so that I can reach for them automatically instead of looking and searching each time I switch from one tool to the next. Since it's always the same tools used in the same order, it's easy to gain some speed that way without sacrificing quality.

As I'm sure I've stated before, we always work by the job, not by the hour, with the price decided upon before we start. I enjoy working a lot more when I'm not feeling rushed. Chuck

the stringer have usually 2 saw lines on his wire cutter. one for strings with small stretch, one for the large one.

perfect eyelets are also very important, in case there is one by string, loose eyelets will release much length when tightened, so there also the job must be consistent.

I do not restring enough pianos /year to be as good as a "stringer", but try to be consistent indeed.

A small paper ruler with a magnet at the back have proved to be useful at the beginning of the job, to calibrate the eye.
I learned with the 3-4 fingers as a measuring tool, but did string way more pianos at that time so indeed the job was good after some time.
The principle was to make the first side tight, turn around the plate pin and be used to the slack left for the lenght cut on the left string. The strings are installed in the bridge at the end.

No need to use pliers to pull on the wire, nor to make a becket, for me. Minimal tools, consistency. The beckets are pushed tight in the pin before tension is added.
it sometime make the coils oval for a moment, not a problem, what count is that the wire is well inserted in the hole, if not the angle may round with the tension.

some back and forth corrections necessary sometime, the less the best indeed.

Chuck, the strings are massaged, in the way I learned. Relatively strong and with a hard wood extremity (makes some heat).


The beckets can be more lining, also, indeed it is not so easy on verticals due to the tightening of the pressure bar, but it is possible.

The method that use a coil tightening tool from above and no protuberating becket, allow for really tight coils as they can be tapped with the piano chipped.

If not , there is a fair abuse of the coil tightening tool while the piano is pulled to pitch, the tool need to be first quality and it is not really easy.

What I hate is dismounting a string because I see I missed my cut.up to 1/4 turn I will leave it after evening the mistake between the 2 tuning pins.

Is there a really good string coil compressor tool for compressing from the bottom of the coil when there is significant tension on the string - not brought up to pitch, but not loose either? I have been looking around for one but have not found anything that does a good job on almost all of the pins. Some do a good job on some of the pins, but then don't work well on others. I am actually working on a new design that might work. Please note that I said that it might work. I am not sure at all. Today I have actually been filing away on a Schaff #3151 tool to make one of the parts for my proposed compressor tool. But it would be a waste of time to put 10 - 20 hours in designing, shaping, and welding together a new tool if there is a great tool that I have not yet been able to find.