Kawai heavy action

[Alan McCoy]

Yeah. I hear you. I'm just thinking like Murphy...

Alan 

-----Original Message-----
From: caut-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of
fssturm@unm.edu
Sent: Tuesday, March 23, 2004 4:11 PM
To: College and University Technicians
Subject: RE: Kawai heavy action

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
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