Kawai heavy action

[fssturm@unm.edu]

Quoting Alan McCoy <amccoy@mail.ewu.edu>:

> Fred,
> 
> If you can do all that in a day, my hat is off to you. When I see you
> I'll
> have to bow in the presence of a great one.  :-)
> 
> Alan

  I dunno, it's not that big a deal. Just being organized. Repin shanks usually 
takes me 1 1/2 hours. I'm starting with one size centerpin, going up a full size. 
No fooling around with testing each one, just ream each the same way, burnish 
each the same way, shove in the pin (give it a swing to be sure) and cut. And 
apply some Protek.
  Knuckle leather cuts off pretty easily. Glue pot warmed up, it's just a matter of 
cut, apply glue, pull leather tight and clamp, on to the next. Another 1 1/2 hour 
job as a rule.
  Brush a set of wipp cushions, 10 minutes. Iron them (hammer iron), another 5. 
Brush on a bit of teflon powder and rub it in, another 5. Polish capstans, keys in 
place in frame, using Flitz and a rag, 10 minutes. Keypins I usually take half an 
hour or more, but this is just a quicky. So 20 minutes should have them polished 
(a lick and a promise) and Mclubed with a rag.  File hammers will be about an 
hour, since they're lightly grooved. Ease balance holes (not really very many, 
and not too bad), 15 minutes. All of this amounts to two hours or so.
  So I've spent five hours, and all I've got left is regulation. And it's not like this 
needs a thorough job, just align hammers, capstans, letoff, drop, check, and 
check spring tension, plus raise damper levers. Yes, I know, I could do a real 
bangup job, but I won't. Shouldn't take more than 3 hours, quite possibly less. 
  That's how I look at it in my head. I've left 4 hours slack, in case things don't go 
as planned. But 17 years of never having enough time to get a job done (I'm 
referring to university work) have made me pretty efficient and organized. Tools 
and supplies laid out, moves choreographed.
  But, hey, bow if you like, and I'll bow back. We'll pretend to be Japanese. ;-) 
Definitely no greatness claimed here. Just another guy in the trenches.
Regards,
Fred