Truck-stop coffee goo

[Richard Brekne]

First of all... if you are going to replace the pinblock, then its because
the piano is judged worthy of the expense of doing so. Once you have dug
that deep into a piano its almost meaningless not to renew all the other
points you mention. New pins and strings are a matter of course in such
cases as the increase in cost is almost nothing. Actually it propably is
quicker to restring then to try and save the old strings. Plus you have the
benifit of rescaleing the strings.

There is no point to doing any of this if you are going to put an old
rickety wobbely worn out action back in the piano. That means bringing  the
action back up to at least some basic minimum and should add at least a
reasonably substantial amount to the total cost. The same is of course true
for the dampers, tho it may be that the old damper felt is in good enough
shape to be used. On the other hand the damper assembly should be brought up
to snuff. New centers where needed.. new lifter felt if appropriate.. trap
work etc. Personally I wouldnt hesitate to also change damper felt in such a
case... maybe even the damper wires as well... these should at least be
polished.

Big job. Make sure its worth it. Soundboard ok ??? Bridge ok ??? Plate ok
??? Basic structure good ?? Can you hear through all the worn out parts and
establish that it has reasonably good "Klang" (sound) ?? The only other
consideration is sentimental value which can to some degree compensate for
lackings in these above mentioned points.

My take anyways..grin

Jill Kennon wrote:

> Hi list,
> I came across an old Vose and Sons grand with a saturated pinblock (PBR
> overdose that didn't work? )  It was done with  stuff that looks like
> truck-stop coffee goo, and some of it seeped through to the keys
> underneath, leaving a lovely stain, but apparently not affecting the
> bushings.  Many pins are so loose, (about 20%) that they turn the tuning
> lever, when I let it go, and they span the entire scale. Also there's
> corrosion at the felts under the wires, front and back. Other than that,
> the action seems fine, no obvious repairs needed, just regulation and
> the hammers could be replaced, or filed one more time and voiced. The
> dampers are all doing their job. and the case and soundboard are in good
> shape.
> I'll be checking the pinblock again, this time having the good fortune
> of  another brain being there (Guy Nichols) to see if it's laminants are
> still together. As I understand it,  if the pinblock is trashed, then
> removing all the pins and corroded strings could necessitate a
> restringing job, which also dictates a new damper job. And this points
> towards just doing the whole nine yards, with new hammers, dampers, and
> well shucks, how about refinishing the case and harp. In other words, I
> could job it out to the SAMA plant, leaving the voicing and subsequent
> tunings to me. I'm gathering the options here, to communicate to the
> customer. What can I do on this job as a newbie with a workbench but not
> a rebuilding shop? Opinions?
>
> Thanks, Jill Kennon

--
Richard Brekne
Associate PTG, N.P.T.F.
Bergen, Norway