Old Uprights

[Curtis Spiel]

David V and List,
    My feeling is that if you own old pianos that are total trash
they should NOT be sold, given away, or auctioned, but should be
stripped of anything usable (pedals and ivories are about all)
then throw them away, so they haunt no unsuspecting and/or unin-
formed pianist ever again. Call the money you've spent on them
'education.'
    Another possible use for the parts is jigs for the PTG Tech
Exam. The keys and keyframe can be screwed/glued to plywood, then
sawn (sawed?) to shorter pieces and used for the Key Bushing test,
the hammer rail cut down and straight and angle bored hammers hung
to be both a hammer shank replacement and hammer filing jig, and
if you are raelly ambitious you may make a three note action model.
    Please though, if we as piano technicians don't take junk
pianos out of circulation, we'll always be seeing junk pianos in
our service business, and the people who end up with these instru-
ments will think pianos are junk! If on the other hand, something
musical can be made of them economically, give them that amount of
work and sell them as 'low cost low performance' or 'starter'
pianos. Good luck.
                                  Curtis Spiel, RPT