Maninno/Kawai/ABS

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Tom:

I began servicing a Kawai KU5D in the early 70's. It still has not had
any plastic hammer flange failure. Millions of dollars worth of space
vehicles have been sent aloft having ABS plastic parts. I don't thing
our NASA engineers wouldl risk that kind of money on something which will
not hold up. I'm not a Kawai dealer. There must be some explanation for
the broken parts which you saw. Maybe an early model using Pratt Read
plastics technology before they went for ABS?

Also, Knight pianos used plastic jacks as far back as 1958. I have never
seen a broken jack with their plastic technology.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Wed, 23 Jun 1999 ETomlinCF3@AOL.COM wrote:

> Sy,
> 
> I also found the article on Kawai and ABS very interesting.  My question is a 
> loaded one.  I will begin putting on the flame suit now.  If their plastic is 
> an improvement then while in Hamamatsu last summer looking through their 
> dealer showroom in the city that manufactures these,  I found a piano 
> cut-a-way model on the floor that represented the last octave or so.  In this 
> piano all the plastic hammer flanges were broken.  I tried to ask why but no 
> one there spoke english.  Why?  Sy, you are a Kawai dealer... right?  =)
> 
> Just asking?
> 
> Ed Tomlinson
>