Moutrie spinet from Hong Kong

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Dorothy:

As was the case with the early Japanese and Korean pianos, the early
Chinese piano manufacturers did not understand the necessity of drying
the pinblock stock like we do here in the States. If the piano has been
here in the States for a year or two already, you might try the pinblock
restorer followed by CA treatment. Otherwise, the piano is history. Time
for the burial.

If you should be persuaded to try the pinblock treatment, it is always
good to mix a little water with the glycerine based restorers. I gives
more immediate results and will be helpful in curing the CA if you should
decide to use that also a week later..

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Mon, 15 Nov 1999, Dorothy A. Bell wrote:

> Dear List,
> On Saturday I went for "a tuning" at a new client's house. Turns out
> that the family came from Hong Kong to Boston seven months ago on a
> fellowship. For their musical eight-year-old daughter, they had brought
> -- by ship -- a Moutrie spinet. (No serial number visible, no age known,
> had a history of being tuned below pitch according to the mother.)
> The first thing I saw was a felt practice mute in which the felt seemed
> to be nailed to unsanded lath, with a metal cover along the length of
> the lath which had warped out so that it flared away from the wood.
> There were what looked like wrinkles in the plate, particularly just
> above the tenor break -- no visible cracks but the surface looked like
> sculpted wrinkled drapery. The veneer on the case sides was chipped and
> pieces of veneer were missing.
> There were about 10-12 pins which did not hold at all -- when I took my
> hand off the hammer it would spin right back counterclockwise. Tapping
> had no effect (I tried it on one pin). The "spinning pins" were all
> right-hand pins, so I was concerned about pin block failure along the
> lower edge.
> In addition, two of the paired wound bass strings broke while being
> tuned (the second of each pair survived).
> The client conveyed that she truly wanted the piano tuned if at all
> possible. Given the technical situation above, some communication
> difficulty, and the family's financial limits, I ended up tuning to 100
> cents flat (the pitch of A4 when I arrived), felt-muting off the strings
> which absolutely would not hold, and advising the client that she should
> put no more money into this instrument. I gave her names of some
> reliable dealers for sales and rentals.
> Is there anything else I could have done for this client? She told me
> that she plans to call me for advice after she and her husband decide
> how to proceed (sales, rental, keyboard, or whatever).
> Thanks for any advice and direction,
> Dorrie Bell
> 
> Dorothy A. Bell
> Associate Member, PTG
> 
> 
>