Drop Action Removal

[Les Smith]

	In this old tech's opinion. the best, easiest and least-
stressful way to remove an action from a spinet piano, is to let
someother tech do it, instead of you!  Ultimately, working on
bottom-of-the-barrel instruments will do little to enhance your
tuning, regulating and other technical skills; your customer-
base; your reputation, or your income.The next time you're call-
ed upon to service a spinet piano that's six, or seven hundred
cents flat (!), and has sticking keys; sluggish action-centers;
crumbling plastic elbows and other action parts; a 1/4" of lost-
motion between jacks and butts that can't be regulated because of
crystalized rubber grommets; 1/16" keydip because of disintegrat-
ed, under-key felts; tubby bass strings; rusted treble strings;
loose tuning pins; a cracked bass bridge; mis-striking hammers;
leaking dampers; non-working pedals and a broken music rack, you
might just want to consider referring the job to another tech, who
might appreciate the "challenge" and "learning experience" more
than you. At the same time you can then direct your efforts and
skills towards more worth-while and rewarding work.

	Then there's the matter of referrals, the life-blood of the
independent tech's business. You'll find that the spinet-owner who
makes it a point to have his instrument tuned and serviced at least
once a decade, whether it needs it, or not, and as long as it doesn't
cost more than fifty dollars, is likely to refer you to people who
own similar-quality instruments and who have similar ideas about tun-
ing andf servicing. On the other hand, owners of better-quality in-
struments, who have them tuned and serviced on a regular basis, are
much more likely to refer you to owners of better-quality instruments,
who share their ideas of regular tuning and servicing.

	The choice is yours and certainly the beginning tech, who is
just starting out, has to take all the work that comes his way, just
in order to survive. However, as you begin to get established and your
customer base begins to grow, you probably will find yourself in a sit-
uation where you eventually have the luxury of passing up having to work
on bottom-of-the-barrel junkers. Don't hesitate to do so. You should
constantly be seeking to only to up-grade your skills, but also the
quality of the instruments you work on.

	For a tech who's been in the business, say ten or twelve years,
I can imagine nothing more depressing than waking up in the morning,
opening up your schedule book and finding that your day's work con-
sists of servicing four Aeolian-built spinets. Unless, of course, it's
FIVE! :) Sometimes it's OK to just say NO!

Just one, old-time, tech's opinion; of course!

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net