Ed, I will offer a simple fix to the problem of having lids removed with out permission. The simple fix I initiated was: 1. put the pins in the hinges. 2. take the tip of the pin with channel locks. 3. break the tip off of the pin. a. A hacksaw makes an effective cut too. The pin can still be removed, but you need a hammer and a small punch to drive it out. Surprisingly you will know about who, when, and why the lids are coming off. :-) (big grin) However, be prepared to be called to several faculty meetings to explain and defend this solution. It is worth every minute. Several times I have had this experience of opening the lid and feeling the lid slip away to the floor. Once it actually happened in the middle of a concerto concert narrowly missing the concertmaster. I still open the lid of every grand slowly and give it a small shake before going to full stick. Joel Joel Jones, RPT Madison, WI On Jan 19, 2008, at 1:41 PM, A440A at aol.com wrote: > Kent asks: > << >I have a couple questions about maintaining concert pianos on > stages at > >> universities. > >> > >> 1) Do you have a policy about the touch-up of finish damage? Does >> anyone > touch-up as needed? Or > >> perhaps annually? Never?< > > At Vanderbilt, the 5 year old piano is still nice,the 28 > year old > D is beat up fairly severely. We have touch up done about 10-15 > years into > the use, and a refinish about every three decades. I think I lightly > oiled > the case of the new one when it was delivered, and it hasn't shown the > fingerprints as badly as one of those dry matte finishes do. > > >> 2) Do you have a policy on removing lids?< > > Oh yes, I do. However, the students and faculty don't, so our > pianos > are sometimes sitting there topless without me having a clue. I am > not being > paid to enforce rules, just to repair the damage. > >> There is also a history of damage being > >> done while removing and replacing grand piano lids. >> > > The greatest harm I ever saw was done when only the middle > hinge pin > was in. The first time the lid was opened and put on the long stick, > it > pivoted on the pin, breaking the prop stick, smashing the music desk > and scratching > everything in the path as it twisted and ripped the pin and screws out > of the > rim. Great fun, lots of shouting etc. > > Ed Foote RPT > http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html > www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html > <BR><BR><BR>**************<BR>Start the year off right. Easy ways to > stay > in shape.<BR> > http://body.aol.com/fitness/winter-exercise? > NCID=aolcmp00300000002489</HTML> >
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