new one

[Lance Lafargue]

James,
You're only as good as your last estimate, and it sounds like it was a good
one.  Man!  Sounds scary.  I wouldn't think that piano wood (HA!) hold a
tuning for long.  I wood be curious who tuned it last and if it is likely
that they tuned it to 440, or the low pitch is due to their cutting corners
five years ago.  If the back is separated, it is likely the bugs. It sounds
like this wood be an excellent opportunity to experiment with that "Wood
Restorer" product.  
Lance Lafargue, RPT
New Orleans Chapter
Covington, LA.
lafargue@iamerica.net

----------
> From: pianoman <pianoman@inlink.com>
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: new one
> Date: Thursday, December 18, 1997 5:21 PM
> 
> Today I ran across something I have never seen before.  This fellow
called
> me up for a tuning appointment for his Baldwin console.  It had been
about
> 5 years since last tuned and he said he thought he had a bug problem as
> something had eaten through the protective felt covering over the
pinblock.
> When I got there this morning and opened the lid, WOW.  There was one
place
> about 4 inches in diameter eaten through down into the wood in back of
the
> pinblock and directly above that into the bottom surface of the lid.  I
> told him that the felt covering should be removed so we could see the
> extent of the damage.  He tore it off and all along the top were gaping
> holes and the space between the back post ends were hollow from being
eaten
> away.  In addition, I guess because the filler block had been eaten away
> the pinblock was separated from the back about 1/8" or so .  The dampers
> were not raising from the strings properly and the pitch was over -120c
> flat in the middle and worse towards the treble end.  I told him that the
> normal fix was to pull the front to the back with clamps and put in lag
> screws gluing everything back together but the problem was that there is
> nothing to glue the pinblock back to.  Strangely enough there was no
other
> damage over the rest of the piano inside or out.  I don't know enough
about
> termites but it would seem that they would be damaging something else
close
> by.  He said the piano had been in the same place for over 10 years.  I
> advised that he call an exterminator to check out the damage and to see
if
> he could recognize the perpetrator.  The eaten away part was a drab gray
> flaky color.  I advised also to check with his insurance to see if he had
> any coverage due to insect damage and wrote on his receipt that I thought
> the piano was a total loss and see if that would get him anywhere. 
> Remember this is not in the tropics where this may be common, it is the
St.
> Louis suburbs not far from where I live.
> 	Do you think I gave the right advice?
> 
> 
> 
> James Grebe
> R.P.T. from St. Louis
> pianoman@inlink.com
> "I am only as good as my last tuning"