In a message dated 11/29/99 6:31:35 AM Pacific Standard Time, richardb@c2i.net (Richard Brekne) writes: << I would have them send the piano back, with the recomendation to not bother importing such er... garbage. You gotta figure that a brand new "piano" that exhibits this kind of thing is gonna exhibit other such nonsense in a relatively short period of time. These things arent even good enough to be calles PSO's. More like P'sOS. grin. If the technical community doesnt start putting some demands for a certain level of basis quality on the industry..... then nobody will. :) Without wanting to sound over-critical.... hehe Richard Brekne I.C.P.T.G. N.P.T.F. >> Now, Richard, honestly, don't you give this guy credit for having thought of all of that to begin with? And if so, did it need to be said? The summary dismissal of all those lousy Chinese, Korean, Japanese, Third World, East European, West European, Canadian, American and Extraterrestrial manufactures that everybody loves to hate was probably the easy answer he thought of already and long before writing to the List. Just consider the remote and hypothetical possibility that the "tell'em to send it back" and "tell'em to call somebody else" options have also been considered. Now what is left? Maybe there is already some other guy at that dealership who is like you and "only works on Steinways" (but also complains about them too). Maybe, just maybe, the customer and this guy wants to try to repair this piano after market and make a useful instrument out of it. John Formsma's response was far more to the point and appropriate even though he is a relative novice and that is to his credit. I would add the following to his remarks: For the few very loose tuning pins that will not hold, try what John suggested and see what happens. You'll likely get perfectly good results. Then after that, perhaps one section at a time, look to see if the pins were not driven in to the proper depth to begin with by the manufacturer. If not, you can be sure that the initial chip and pitch raise tunings were done very roughly and aggressively, thus rounding out irregularly the tops of the tuning pin holes. Driving the pins in further would surely be effective but it makes a lot of sense to combine this technique with the water thin CA glue treatment. With the piano on its back, apply the glue and allow it to soak in for about 30 minutes. Then drive the pins in as much as is reasonable and prudent. You may then wait for a few days or apply the accelerator to make a quick cure. Be sure to use both breathing and eye protection and very adequate ventilation. If the pins are already in to the proper depth, the removal of the pins and treating the hole with a thicker grade of CA as John suggested may be your only option. This will probably work even better than reaming and over sized pins because the CA glue serves to fill the irregular gaps and/or repair weak wood structure. There is no reason that CA glue treatment cannot be combined with reaming and oversized pins too, but there is a point at which you can over do it and have to follow that with Rob Goodale's new tool that will be on the market by next week (just kidding). Seriously though, it is possible to get tuning pins so tight with CA glue that they will only break off. A little experimentation to try to find exactly the right technique is called for. Finding exactly the right technique in different circumstances is the key to successful use of CA. Remember also that it is hazardous, so don't take the use of protection and ventilation lightly. To continue with other of Richard's remarks, yes this piano may develop other service requirements prematurely too. If it develops split bridge caps, soundboard cracks and loose ribs, CA can fix those too. Of course, a humidity control system would be recommended, it would be for any piano. If premature alignment and regulation requirements develop, that is more work that this technician can do and be paid for. Maybe he is even looking for this kind of thing so that he can gain enough experience so that he too can become an "I only do Steinways" guy someday too. Most of us have had to go through this, only a very few have had the privilege of working in a fine piano factory, dealership or university setting from the beginning. The kinds of easy and summary dismissal comments that come from these kinds of people do not really help answer important questions that all of the rest of us have and have had in the past or will in the future. They also can have the opposite effect of that which is intended. Instead of the novice looking up to such a person, they may learn to despise and resent that person for the privileges that seem to be unearned and are unattainable by the person who is being patronized. The French had a revolution about those kinds of things and the "Let them eat cake" kinds of remarks they made. Also, it is practically automatic that the dealer will stop buying and/or complain sufficiently to the manufacturer about these problems that eventually there will be a resolution or the manufacturer will go out of business. It is the avoidance of the problem that is far more likely to permit it to continue than addressing it will. Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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