Background Information
Richard Bunger wrote a book, The Well-Prepared Piano, in which he explains how John Cage prepared his pianos and even which pianos are suitable, because of the deviation of string lengths within different brands. Bunger also clarifies why the preparations were done in such ways; in other words, which adaptation creates which sounds (harmonics obtained, timbrel effects, etc.). The timbre of the instrument changes dramatically when preparations are introduced. Much of the technique is related to the harmonic positions of the strings. For instance a preparation on 1/2 of the string length causes a different sound than on 1/3. In other words, the preparations don't cause a random sound as often assumed.
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