birdcage....long

[Mike Kurta]

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    Hi Ed:
    What a colorful story you told.  Well done!  Welcome to the world of =
birdcage pianos.  Like square grands, one has to appreciate them for =
what they are-state of the art at the time, and horrible pains by =
today's standards.  The cases are beautiful, with fine marketry work, =
inlaid patterns, veneer matching, etc, etc, but they can be troublesome =
to service.   =20
    I've worked on several, my daughter has one, so these tips may help. =
 First in pitch raising and tuning, I've found it helpful to mark each =
string with its note signature on the plate at the tuning pin which =
corresponds to the note being tuned.  This way, the action can be =
removed once, and the piano can be tuned by chipping (plucking) the =
strings.  It may not be perfect, but close enough. =20
    The damper problem stems from the dampers not exerting enough =
pressure against the strings to effectively work.  (Duh).  As has been =
suggested, make sure the damper wires have slight up and down play in =
them to be sure they are not holding the dampers away from the strings =
when the action is in place.  These can be adjusted by adjuster screws =
or bending the wires, depending on the design. =20
    Next, be sure the action as a whole is up tight toward the strings =
as far as it can go.  If anything prevents this, even a few thousandths =
of an inch, damper leakage will occur.  Possibly you can bend the ears =
of the metal latches (if it has them) to exert more inward pressure on =
the action.  Sometimes shimming the latches with flat washers will force =
the action inwards.  I've seen pianos where soft felt strips were glued =
to the front of the dampers making them in effect a thicker damper.  Now =
one has to be sure that the damper comes away from the string fully when =
the note is played.   Desperate problems call for desperate measures, so =
you may have to get creative in analyzing the problem.  If damping was =
OK before the tuning, and not now, try to see what may have changed.  =
It's always better to correct the original problem than to try to fix =
symptoms.  The difficulty is finding the original problem.  Often I'd =
like to have been paid for the time in finding it, not fixing it.  Good =
Luck, let us know how it finally is resolved.
    Mike Kurta
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Ed Carwithen=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Saturday, August 03, 2002 11:00 PM
  Subject: birdcage....long=20


  Subject; Birdcage piano.

  Problem 1st, diatribe 2nd, and for those still with me the whole story =
3rd.

  I don't do many birdcage pianos, fortunately. Today...a doozie! After =
tuning I could not get the dampers to damp. It is as though the action =
itself is warped or something. From about F1 to C5 the dampers are not =
contacting the strings sufficiently to stop the tone either individually =
or collectively. Any note played sets the entire piano warbling. When I =
push in on the action the situation is better, but not fixed. There is =
plenty of play in the sustain pedal so that is not the problem (2 =
pedals; the other moves a felt strip in front of the hammers). The =
problem is so severe that even when cutting off sound with finger on the =
strings the C5 (for instance) tone continues to sound from sympathetic =
vibrations of other strings, almost as though the sustain pedal were =
being held down.=20

  C#5 on up seems to work fine. Starting with that note the dampers are =
smaller, and the wooden stop at the bottom of the damper wire has some =
slack before contacting the lower action mechanism. I tried adding some =
slack to the C5 as well, but it didn't seem to help.=20

  I tried adjusting the wire holding the damper itself toward the =
string, but that didn't seem to solve it either. Perhaps it might have =
helped that one tone, but the rest of the piano sounding sympathetically =
made it appear not to have helped????=20

  There is a wood dowel keeping the action from being moved back toward =
the strings; one on each side. The locking mechanism for the action is =
in good repair.

  HELP. Someone with great knowledge on English Overdamper pianos tell =
me what I need to do to get those dampers working properly.

  2nd. Diatribe:

  Nice owner. Recently retired, now wants to learn to play the piano. =
This piano was sold to him for $600 in Eastern Washington State. It was =
obviously sold "AS IS." 198 cents flat! A Bird cage piano yet...problems =
with dampers as noted above...and FILTHY. They couldn't even bother to =
take a vacuum to it??? Dust underneath the keys was so matted and thick =
it was like felt. Even a 1907 English penny under there.=20

  I know, I know..."Caveat emptor, Let the buyer beware" But still... =
Here is a man who wants to learn to play the piano. He goes into a music =
store for help. They sell him a nice looking piece of crap that can't be =
played! "It just needs a tuning!" I can see the saleman giggling about =
how they finally unloaded that white elephant on some unsuspecting rube. =
Maybe I am wrong. If you are the man in the store in Eastern Oregon who =
perpetrated this mess, email me and explain how I have misinterpreted =
it. If this were someone looking for antiques to fix up and sell, or =
someone interested in it as a curiosity, ok. But someone expecting to =
come home and start in on John Thompson #1??? I don't think so!

  #3 The Whole Story.

  The call comes in last week. We establish a day and time, and today is =
it. 60 miles from home. Turn on a secondary road that goes up the =
mountain, then turns into a dirt road. 6 miles of washboard rattling =
your eyeteeth, and sending up a dust cloud that could obscure the sun; =
up the mountain, down the mountain, and a switchback every 200 ft. What =
is amazing is that there were MANSIONS out there. 3 or 4 of them. The =
clients house didn't appear to be much from the outside; manufactured =
home on the absolute top of the mountain with a chain link fence to keep =
out the deer. Inside is very nice, but what makes it special is that he =
has put the house on top of bluff and made a second story below the =
house. Very impressive. And he built it all himself bit by bit as he =
could pay for it, so that now it is free and clear. Anyway, that is the =
locale.

  The piano is beautiful. The outside has been well cared for. =
Everything actually works, the keys all make sound, the pedals actually =
work. But 198 Cents flat. Are you remembering that this is an =
overdamper? Its bad enough to do that big a pitch raise on a normal one, =
but on an overdamper it is a long day. I got a lot of practice taking =
birdcage action in and out. and got it up to only -25 cents, and only =
broke 1 string (which I replaced..ok?) Then the damper problem =
manifested itself. Couldn't solve it, so came home to ask for help from =
all of you.=20

  Incidentally it is a Rintoul B. Not listed in my Pearce. Anybody know =
anything? No serial number that I could find.


  Ed Carwithen

  John Day, OR

  Yes, I am member of PTG...associate.=20

  Yes, I go to meetings.=20

  Yes, I have looked for information in the Reblitz and in my Potter =
course manual.



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