>Dear List, > >After restringing a Paul G. Mehlin & Sons upright serial # 21406 and in >the process of bringing the strings up to 150 cents flat, I heard this >loud bang and discovered a large crack in the left bottom of the plate >where it curves around the corner from the bottom to the vertical. > >I have several questions: > >1. What is my liability in this situation? > >2. How much does plate repair cost usually? > >3. I have over a thousand dollars worth of labor in this turkey >already. Will I be able to collect any of it if the plate can't be >repaired. > >4. How would you handle the customer? > >Thanks, > >WHATAREVOLTINGMESSTHISISFISHER >-- >Home of the Humor List >Warren D. Fisher >fish@communique.net >Registered Piano Technician >Piano Technicians Guild >New Orleans Chapter 701 Hey Warren, Sorry about the unfortunate turn of events. I can give you a little relief in that I own a fairly new (3 years old) grand that had a cracked plate. I bought it from the dealership I worked at in Boise. I went out to do its first tuning after it was sold and found the third plate strut cracked (very thin). This could have only been a surface crack, but the pitch kept dropping radically after every tuning. After consulting the manufacturer, I chose to purchase it and have it repaired. I got a stone deal (as my mom would say). The welding job cost me $200. The action was removed, protective trays placed under the strut and over the soundboard. Tension was NOT dropped, nor were any strings removed. The crack was ground down and heliarc welded. The trick is finding a good welder. After the weld, I applied bondo to level and shot over it with bronzing powder provided by the manufacturer. Today you would not be able to tell where the break was and the piano is quite stable. Typical of tuners, I never tune it. So if you are lucky (and it looks like you're due for some), this could only be a momentary setback. Especially if you included the ever-popular 15% overage clause in your contract... I wish you the best. "Tunings are like bridges... Some are more exceptional than others, but they all get the job done." Eric Leatha, RPT Portland, OR tunrboy@teleport.com
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