Teardrop Knuckle Question

[Les Smith]

Hi, Avery!

I hope that you didn't tie yourself down by giving a firm estimate on
this job. About the best thing that can be said about a 1938 Lester
grand is that it isn't a Kranich & Bach! If those hammer, wippen and
damper flanges are really sluggish, you'll probably find that using
Protek (which I use and endorse, heartily) on them will only last un-
til the check clears! In the end, you're probably going to have to re-
pin. (Don't forget to check the jacks,too).

Then there's the matter of raising the customer's level of expecta-
tions too high. You said that you were going to regulate the action,
make the piano "decently playable" and "in tune". That's a tall order.
Lester, itself, couldn't even promise that in 1938 when the piano was
new! :)

Anyway, have fun! And if, while working on this one, you have to resort
to using language you wouldn't want your mother to hear you saying,
we'll all understand!

All the Best,

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net




On Mon, 24 Feb 1997, Avery Todd wrote:

> List,
>
>    I took on one of those jobs today that I will probably wish I hadn't, a
> small Lester grand built in 1938 according to the serial number. The
> customer bought the piano at an estate sale, after having two tuners tell
> her it was tunable. It is, but it's almost unplayable as there are a lot of
> other
> problems to correct. Primarily extreme sluggishness in the hammer flanges
> (so probably in the wippens & damper flanges, too) and regulation. I've
> already tried Protek on a couple of test hammer flanges and they went from
> app. 1/2 swing to 8-10 swings after working it in good. I'm going to leave
> them
> overnight and see what they do tomorrow. I sure would like not to have to
> repin everything!
>    The hammers are shot, so I'll file them the best I can but I told her all
> I could promise was that the piano would be decently playable and in tune
> (1/2 step raise). I've already pulled it up once to make sure what was going
> to happen. Only one string broke, so I think I'll be OK there.
>    Now, one minor question. Is there an "official" reference point to
> regulate the jack position (front to back) under the knuckle with
> "tear-drop" type knuckles? Or would the best way be to just regulate it
> forward until it escapes under pressure (holding the hammer down while
> pressing on the key)
> then moving it back slightly?
>    For once, just a simple question :-) that anyone with experience on this
> type of knuckle can answer.
>    Thanks.
>
> Avery
>
> P.S. I haven't had a chance yet to try the suggestions made about my
> "double striking hammers" problem on the Hamburg D. I got, yet again, some
> very good ideas on things to check. I'll probably probably do it during
> Spring Break.
> I'm putting the piano out of commission for that week to rebush the keys
> with leather (I'm tired of having to rebush every 1-1/2 to 2 yrs.), so I'll
> take a good look then at the things suggested for the other problem. I'll
> do a follow-up in case anyone else might be interested.
>    Thanks again to all those who responded.
>
> _____________________________________
> Avery Todd, RPT
> Moores School of Music
> University of Houston
> 713-743-3226
> atodd@uh.edu
> http://www.uh.edu/music/
> _____________________________________
>
>
>
>