Piano Strings

Back in August my family moved into an old farm house that has sat vaccant for 3 years. As one could imagine there was quite a bit of work to be done to make it live-able and I will spare the details as I do not want to re-live the nightmare.



Anyways, I broke down an old (1913-1915), moldy, player piano. Wished I could have kept the wood but it was in rough shape. I added what I could to my pile but kept the strings seperate as I had a hunch they were wound with copper. I have pushed them up against my grinder but they are so old that they break on contact. My question is: how can I detirmine if they are copper wound or phosphorus/bronze?

No yard that I use would waste time shooting a few grams of metal, it costs to fire up that XRF gun.

My bet is that the wire is flash plated with copper, you forgot to use your magnet.

Originally Posted by Patriot76

I am curious what the cost is to fire up the XRF gun? Thank you for reminding of the name.

The XRF gun is a simple hand held device. Don't think there is really any cost to grab it and shoot something. Yard had never complained as long as they had it that day. They are expensive to buy though. I believe they are in the $25,000 range.

The XRF hand held gun has a very expensive vacuum tube that is good for a few thousand shot before it needs to be replaced.

Replacement Cost

The current average prices to replace a GE 2000D tube are as follows. Please note that prices on used and refurbished tubes will vary based on the age of the individual tube in question.
New: $32,000
Refurbished (new insert): $10,000
Used: $6,000 - $8,000

After a certain point, increasing the gauge of the strings can cause the strings to become stiff, adversely affecting the sound. At this point (an octave or so below middle C), the strings change from plain steel wire to a steel wire core wound with copper wire. The copper winding increases the mass of the string, without noticeably changing its stiffness. This allows the string to vibrate at a lower pitch without having to dramatically increase its length. In the extreme bass, the strings may have a double winding of copper.

The Piano Deconstructed