Brother Can You Spare a Time???

[TunerJeff@aol.com]

Dear Folks,

<<At the request of Keith Kopp (ETS Pacific Northwest Chair)>>

     The Exam folks are looking for some help at the PTG-Convention. Folks
willing to help with Tuning Exams at the Convention need to contact Keith
Kopp by snail mail or phone call. You will NOT be sucked into a black-hole of
marathon tuning/testing nor handcuffed to the test-site (...alternative
discipline will be used...). They just need a few good persons to donate a
time commitment for at at least ONE test period. OK? Your help will be
appreciated. Please contact off-line members who are attending the
convention, and let your Chapter Newsletter Editors zap a notice into the
next edition. Thanks folks!


Brother Can You Spare a Time?
Keith Kopp (PNW ETS Sub-Chair)
61283 Killowan
Bend, OR 97702
(541) 388-3741

(Oh! And thanks for yours, folks!)
Jeffrey T. Hickey, RPT
Oregon Coast Piano Services
TunerJeff @ aol.com

ps- Those who cannot tolerate primitive forms of communications (ie;
Snail-Mail, Land-lines, Pigeons, Smoke-signals and the like...) can zap an
E-Mail message to me, I'll faithfully forward these to Keith.

pps- For the Tech-List folks who struggled to the end, seeking a grain of
technical knowledge amongst this chaff;

                 <<<SETTING LET-OFF IN UPRIGHT PIANOS...>>>

     Let-off can be quickly and accurately set in uprights with the use of a
small piece of wood, two screws, a thick rubber mute or two, and a let-off
tool. The wood should be about 10-12" in length and about1/2" thick (Mine
came from stock used by Dampp-Chaser to stiffen their shipment in it's
cardboard tube-thingie...).

     The wooden piece is slid behind the hammer shanks in each section,
parallel to the hammer-rest-rail, the two screws are inserted to stop it from
plunging below the hammer-rest-rail (..ummm...mine came from extra screws
provided by the same company with their fine products...odd isn't it?...).

     The hammers are lifted toward the strings (...by the rail!) and the
rubber mute(s) slid into the action bracket(s) under the rest-rail to support
the hammers at about 1/8" from the strings.

     Depressing the keys will quickly show where let-off is, and which way to
turn the let-off buttons. The ideal is a VERY slight 'bump' of the hammer by
the jack when the keys are depressed. You will quickly learn to feel/hear the
correct 'click/tick!' as the hammer just winks off the wooden board you've
put behind the shanks along the rest-rail. Let-off is quickly and accurately
set.

     I've never heard or seen a better, quicker, or more reliable way to set
let-off in upright pianos...except to have someone else do it, mebbe. Set
let-off to whatever specs your heart, teacher, regulation guideline book, or
factory specifications require. 1/8" is simply a ballpark  figure to hang the
description from and works for most American-made ancient hoary uprights...
like the one I worked on today for instance. Enjoy!

Your patience is appreciated,
Jeffrey T. Hickey, RPT
Oregon Coast Piano Services
TunerJeff @ aol.com