APSCO portable piano tilter

[David ilvedson]

Paul,

I have never used a clamp with my tilter.  I slip it under and 
pull it back for repairs, then up we go to set it up and you 
keep a hand on the top of the piano and let it go over onto its 
castors.  Is this something that is suppose to be dangerous 
and difficult?  I have never had a problem except for the time I 
forgot that I hadn't installed the bottom board...a quick 
recovery saved the day...

David Ilvedson, RPT

Date sent:      	Wed, 08 Sep 1999 13:36:40 -0700
From:           	"Paul S. Larudee" <larudee@pacbell.net>
To:             	pianotech@ptg.org
Subject:        	APSCO portable piano tilter
Send reply to:  	pianotech@ptg.org

> List,
> 
> I finally bit the bullet and bought a portable piano tilter from APSCO a
> couple of months ago because I'm tired of the acrobatics I have to do in
> my van when I take my larger one from Schaff to a job site.  Used it for
> the first time last week, and it's great except that it comes with two
> clamps which are supposed to be used to lock the tilter to the frame
> posts.
> 
> I tried every conceivable way that I could think of to use those clamps,
> without success.  For the information of those who don't have one, the
> clamps are 1/2" threaded steel rods about 8" long with a small plate
> roughly 1" x 2" welded on one end in a plane perpendicular to the axis
> of the rod.  A piece of angle iron of roughly the same size slides
> loosely along the rod by means of a hole in one arm of the angle. 
> Finally, a large wing nut screws onto the free end of the rod.
> 
> The clamp is clearly designed so that the welded plate gets braced on a
> post while the angle iron fastens onto the tilter and the wing nut
> tightens it in place.  Problem is I can't figure out any way to make the
> angle iron fasten anywhere and tighten the nut.  I can of course bypass
> the problem by not using the clamps, which is what I did on this job,
> and use straps instead.  If there is a right way to use them, however, I
> would be interested to know.
> 
> It is almost impossible to respond to this unless you own one of these
> things, because of all the dimensions of the parts and the way they fit
> together (or don't).  Anybody got one and had to deal with this?
> 
> Thanks.
> 
> Paul S. Larudee, RPT
> Richmond, CA
> 


David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA
ilvey@jps.net