I got one ....

[Frederick G Scoles]

On Wed, 11 Dec 1996, Greg & Mary Ellen Newell wrote:

> On Tue, 10 Dec 1996 07:10:28 -0800, Warren Fisher wrote:
> >Greg, have you ruled out some kind of liquid spill?  Also with cheap
> >pianos you get cheap felt bushings.  In New Orleans I find a lot of felt
> >that works fine when the piano is new but developes a lot of friction
> >with use.  They could have been on the borderline originally and
> >something changed a little.  Gremlins are alive and well!
>
>
> I have not seen any sign of spillage. No telltale marks. If
> something had ,I'm guessing I would have seen it as it would
> have had to cover a large surfce area to affect all these
> areas.
> 				Greg
Greg,  is it possible that the piano's location in the room is near or in
the air ventillation direction of periodic activity like cooking or high
humidity.  Some institutional kitchens produce airborne grease and high
humidity that could settle out in the piano's felts or even produce a
light abrasive corrosion on the damper wires and underlever flange pins,
preventing proper operation.  I mention this only because one
institutional player piano stack I rebuilt about ten years ago worked
only two years before all its valves (cloth-lined metal stemmed) stopped
working.  That was an obvious case of grease (and a certain amount of
cigarette smoke) that had concentrated into the bushing cloths.  This
might not be your problem, but I have found it is important to consider
nearby activities when placing an institutional piano.

Fred Scoles, RPT