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Looks like I might have to replace all the straps. I am unsure which type are best, glue on or clip on?

I hope the following image helps.


I live in a fairly remote area, and am forced to order online, so I would prefer get the correct type. :-)

Thanks.

If the straps go through a hole under the leather catchers, the cork straps will work. Otherwise you need the clip-on. Most pianos take medium cork straps. You can measure the hole to make sure. In either case, a little glue is a good idea.

You likely are aware that if you remove action to do the work all straps need to be installed before you can reinstall the action.

Thanks. I just looked, and there is indeed holes. I was lucky enough to find a Canadian supplier online that provides each type strap.

Two things I am unsure of, are these best replaced with the action out?
I notice that folks cut the old style (no clip, no cork) to achieve a certain length. How does someone adjust the length of the cork straps? is that a silly question?

Not a silly question. Many times the cork straps are too long resulting in the need to bend the bridle wires way back. You then must hope they will not interfere with any of the case parts. This is why most technicians stock several types of straps to find the ones that will fit best on a particular piano.

+1 on the cord straps.

You may need to trim the cork, so that they do not stick
out too badly.

And yes, use a dab of glue when installing.

You are supposed to replace ALL of the straps, because
when some of them have broken, the rest are ready to
break too.

Is the braided tape of the straps itself perished? Or is it just the leather tape ENDS?

If the latter, it's an easier job just to scrape the old perished leather ends off the braided tape, and replace with new ends.

As the action has 'jack assist springs', there is another level of complication to disassembling and re-assembling. Another reason to replace just the tape ends, if the tapes themselves are OK.

It's fiddly to hook jack assist springs into loops.

The tapes will not be okay. They are cotton, and cotton does not last.

And, you know, although good sense and good practice say if a few are perished replace the lot, it can happen in practice that you can get by with just replacing the broken ones in the meantime. The non-broken ones can last a long time, allowing you to get on with other work meantime.

Except that one has to buy a set anyway. There is no reason to undo the extra jack springs. Just do it and be done with it!

Yessir!

The leather ends seem okay, although clearly aged about 110 years. The tapes are damaged on a small number of them. Some look horrible, while others are simply dangling, separated from the leather ends.

It seems like the price is okay for a set.

I love this forum. Thanks everyone for the help. Long highway distances mean I have no easy access to a tech, so I am grateful that all your help enables me to do certain things like strap replacement.

I am still curious if it is best to remove the action to fix all these.

I am not certain whether it is best to remove the action. Usually it is, but with the extra springs, it may not be.
If you take it out, start at the top notes and work your way down for better clearance.

You can use a piece of dowel with a brad in the end, with the head snipped off, to stab the corks for easy insertion.

No. Don't pull the action. Doing so will drop all the jacks under the hammerbutts and just complicate the process. The bridle straps keep the jack in position under the butts when the action is removed, so obviously.....replace them before you need to pull the action for something else. Bridle straps, as in horses, not bridal as in brides, are what they are. Whoa there! No falling under the hammer for the jacks!

1. Pull the old bridle straps.
This means pulling what's left of the tabs off the bridle wires AND reaching in and cutting or pulling the rest of the old straps. Also pull the misc. replaced straps you mentioned, too. I have a set of skinny 45/angled scissors that reach handily under the catcher to cut the tapes quite close to the hammerbutt. You need to remove the bits of strap, because they can foul the jack's motion under there.

2. Dab of glue
I use a small plastic glue bottle (Elmer's white) with the orange nozzle that spins closed/open. It reaches the bottom of the opening in the catcher, that circle where your corks will go, and allows fine control on leaving just a tiny dab of glue at the base of that opening. Just a dot will do; overgluing just makes a drippy mess. I usually go for 10-12 at a time, so that the glue remains ready for the cork. Get too far ahead of yourself, and the glue starts drying.

3. Insert new straps
There are bridle strap inserters available from the supply house...and I have a couple...but find that a standard little pinvise and a centerpin buried almost full depth works just as well. It fits my hand better, anyway! What you want is a tool with a little needle/pin extending only about 2-3mm and allowing you to stab the cork in the middle with a solid base to push the cork in with. Grab the strap, pulling it back along the tool, and push the cork into the opening. Keep the strap at the bottom, where your glue is waiting for it. Push the cork in firmly...but don't crack that old wood! The cork probably won't go quite flush, or it will too easily pop right on through. If it slips right through; you need a larger size. If it barely enters the opening; you need a smaller size. If it fits in nicely and flush or close to flush; you have the right size.

4. Attach the straps
As you go along putting the straps into the bridle wires, check that the jacks aren't blocking the hammers forward. You'll need to pull the jack back, pushing down on the tail, to get them out from under the hammerbutt. If the hammers are on the hammer rest rail, you're fine. If the hammer is pushed towards the strings, or touching the strings, you have the get the jack clear before attaching the strap. The strap, attached, can bring the whippen and jack up tighter to the hammerbutt and make it impossible to get the jack out without breaking things. Get the jacks cleared BEFORE attaching the straps. OK?

Caution; Biggest danger is trying to shove the corks into the catcher opening too hard, to far, and cracking the 100-yr. old wood. The cork compresses a bit...but there is a limit. This is something you develop a feel for...but usually by pushing too hard a time or two! Trust your glue to do the job. What you are looking for is that the cork seats well in the opening, and does not extend so far out that it compromises the action of the backcheck/catcher action at the end of the keystroke. A cork can actually be so far out that the backcheck tries to catch the CORK and not the catcher. Watch for that!

Armchair action,
1/2 watching the race,
sipping Costa Rican,
Is,

Does anyone still use the glued-on straps? I always thought that would be the "correct" replacement despite taking longer to install.

Why do people still use the inserter with one point on it? Make one with two points. Now you can twist the bridle straps into the hole. Less force needed. Less broken catchers, and no need for glue because those suckers get real deep. I can use large corks where medium were the maximum size possible with the single point. Result, real tight. Try it and let me know how you like it.

Mark,

When you follow yourself in a decade on those 'cork-only' replacements, not taking the time to use a dab of glue, you'll find that the cork dries and falls out with time. Far before the straps fail. It is low quality, cheap and spongy stuff. Not like the high density cork used by some winemakers for their bottles. Give it 8-10 years, they both harden and shrink with time, and a little tug will pop them right out of there. Which you will discover when you pull the action and the dang things start falling out!

I use the dab of glue because it touches the strap at the base of the cork where it contacts the catcher opening. If the cork completely bails and falls into dust....the strap will still be attached. I didn't listen to older techs on using the dab of glue until I returned to a piano and found the corks falling out after only 5 years or so. Then....I wished I had listened to the people who were trying to help me!

This is where being in the business a decade or three let's me offer advice based on experience...so you don't have to find out the hard way. The straps on older replacement jobs, done in the late 70's/early 80's, have not failed, but some of the carefully installed, firmly seated, well-fitting corks have dried and crumbled in that relatively short time.

Belt and suspenders,
Why worry?
Sipping,
one sugar--Costa Rican,
Respectfully,

Hi Jeff,

With all due respect, when you come to a piano that has bridle straps that have been glued like that, you'll appreciate the guy who didn't use glue because the bridles will be so easy to remove and replace. What a mess having to drill out all those glued bridle straps. I hate that job and curse the guy who did it that way. (Was that you?)

I think you missed my point. You do not need glue because the double pin inserter allows you to insert larger corks deeper than they could ever go with a single pin inserter.

Think about it. Push in or twist in? Try it. You will be amazed! I was.

You're not being stubborn are you? ;-) Heck, I'll even send you one in the mail for free. I've already made a bunch of them for my students.

P.S. I've have followed myself. Think about the big picture. What if a cork falls out? Big deal. Just reinsert it even deeper now that it has shrunk. Do the next tech a favour and don't use glue, but do use the double pin inserter. They will thank you for it.

With the single pin inserter, I think glue will ensure they stay in better, but I still despise having to drill out all those corks.

Best Regards,