This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment Even just tuning the piano will sometimes cause parts to break. First = the elbows then the hammer flange or jack - wippen flange - damper = assembly - back check, if it has total plastic. Joe Goss imatunr@srvinet.com www.mothergoosetools.com ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Mike Kurta=20 To: Pianotech=20 Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 7:42 AM Subject: Re: lessons learned Hi Guys: A good way to describe the plastic parts to the owner is to make a = comparison to dry pretzels. They both break very easily....... Mike Kurta ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Clyde Hollinger=20 To: Pianotech=20 Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 9:35 AM Subject: Re: lessons learned Tom,=20 Both are good lessons to remember. We all know that experience is a = good teacher, although most of us hope to avoid learning that way, at = least in the sense you did.=20 Terry's response was good, as usual, so I won't repeat what he said. = The last time I worked on one of these buggers I talked with the owner = how repairs sometimes call for stressing the other parts a little, such = as pushing an upright jack a little to the side to get to the hammer = flange screw. That normally works okay, but when working with brittle = plastic you can work your way into lots of unwanted additional work = right down the line.=20 And that's exactly what happened when I had to replace one of her = damper flanges. I barely had to breathe on its neighbor and there she = goes. Since I had discussed the situation beforehand and gotten = approval from the owner, she paid for the work I did, but I left with = one damper flange still broken. I pointed it out to her, but since the = damper still worked okay I couldn't see putting more money into the = piano, and she agreed. A note on the service card now reads, "Don't = touch this piano again." I hope I have enough fortitude when she calls = again to stick to that.=20 Regards, Clyde=20 Tvak@aol.com wrote:=20 To all=20 Today I taught myself a couple of lessons. First of all, I will = never break the following rule ever again:=20 Don't ever...ever....even TOUCH a plastic flange unless it is = glued to the doorknob of the exit door and even only then if there's no = other way out.=20 I replaced a set of elbows today. I knew that it had plastic = wippen flanges. Why was I so careless snapping that first elbow in = place? The price? Removal of the spinet action to replace the cracked = plastic wippen flange.=20 The other 87 elbows snap in place with no further problem due to = extreme care on my part. Adjust the lost motion and...play the piano. = Hmmm...the hammer on middle C is double striking. I'll just move the = backcheck forward and... (What was I thinking...?)=20 Out comes the spinet action to replace the newly broken plastic = wippen flange. While replacing the wippen flange I brush against a = damper lever and...now I can replace the plastic damper flange on that = damper lever and... the one next to it which I also bumped into with the = screwdriver.=20 Back goes the action and as I play the piano I realize that the = damper lever on D5 is not damping due to it's also being cracked. (I = did look at them all while they were out of the piano, but it was not = visually apparent.) Now, I was nowhere near D5 so I wonder if this was = a pre-existing problem, which leads me to the next lesson I learned:=20 Check the piano first to see if there are any problems.=20 BTW, my original service call on this piano was 6 months ago at = which time I replaced 4 elbows and informed the client of the existence = of all the plastic flanges, and the costs involved in replacing them. I = advised him NOT to put any money into this Lester spinet, other than = replacing those 4 elbows that had already broken. Six months later he = called to tell me to go ahead with the elbows. In the back of my mind = I was thinking, wasn't this the piano with all the plastic flanges? But = rather than say anything, I just went ahead and made the appointment. = Which leads me to the last lesson for the day:=20 Take better notes on each piano for future reference.=20 I rarely share my experiences with others on the list. Hope this = was worth reading...=20 Tom Sivak ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/52/e2/3a/db/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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