What would you do?

[Billbrpt@AOL.COM]

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