Piano wire

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Piano wire is a specialized type of wire made for use in piano and other musical instrument strings, as well as many other purposes. It is made from tempered high-carbon steel, also known as "spring steel". Music wire is another name for piano wire: it is used for the cores of strings, which may be wound with other materials. Music wire for instruments other than pianos comes in smaller gauges, down to .007" (0.17 mm).

1 Manufacture and use
2 Other applications
3 Piano wire in popular culture
4 See also
5 External links
- 5.1 Manufacturers of piano wire

[edit] Manufacture and use

General purpose high-carbon steel drawn music wire (such as ASTM A228) is manufactured in both inch and metric gauges in diameters as small as 0.006 inches (0.15 mm) up to 0.192 inches (4.8 mm). A small number of companies produce the tough, high tensile strength polished wire intended for limited music instrument markets, which is manufactured from steel of a specific composition by cold drawing. Musical instrument strings are among the most demanding of all its applications. Placed under high tension, they are subject to repeated blows, are bent, stretched and slackened during tuning, and are still expected to last for decades. The wire must also be extremely consistent in size: variations greater than 0.0003 inches (0.0076 mm) can produce audible falseness in modern instruments.

Music wire evolved from handmade ductile iron to continuously drawn carbon steel by the end of the nineteenth century, and the international competition for higher strength benefitted from demands of consistency from other special wire products like telegraph and barbed wire. Innovative piano makers kept pace with advances in this important auxiliary industry by increasing the size and tensions in their string scales.

Music wire is sold by weight and packaged in tight coils. It springs back to a gentle curve but can be straightened using a series of opposed rollers. It requires careful handling for safety and appearance, since it can be marred by perspiration, and it requires special cutters, as the hardened steel will otherwise quickly dull the cutter.

[edit] Other applications

Piano wire is also used in the fabrication of springs, fishing lures, special effects in the movie industry and for cutting soap. It is also commonly used in hobby applications such as model railroading.

[edit] Piano wire in popular culture

Piano wire sometimes appears in popular fiction as an instrument of murder, usually by strangulation. A particularly intriguing instance of this was the "Piano Wire Watch" worn by SPECTRE assassin Donald "Red" Grant in the James Bond film From Russia with Love. The watch had a hidden tab that could be pulled out, revealing a length of piano wire to be used as a garrotte.