Damper lever felts, dents in

[Dean May]

$2 for 2 minutes?

You've got way more than 2 minutes invested in fixing this problem. You
fussed with it the first time you were out. You thought about it when you
went home. You wrote a post to this list to tap into the collective wisdom
here (how much is access to that database of knowledge worth?) and carried
on a dialogue about it. You drove back out to the customer's house, pulled
the action, diagnosed the problem, fussed with finding the right tool, fixed
the problem (multiple problems, actually, including eliminating
"clunkyness"), and reinstalled the action.

You are an experienced technician. People are paying you for your skills,
knowledge and ability to solve problems, including where to go for
additional knowledge. Your customer does not have the time or inclination or
resources to solve the problem. You do and that is what he is paying you
for. And that is what you should charge him for, not for the 2 minutes it
took you to turn the spoons.

I will now step off of my soap box.

Blessings,

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359
PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272
Terre Haute IN  47802

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf
Of R Moody
Sent: Friday, March 12, 2004 3:07 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: Re: Damper lever felts, dents in

Keith wrote.....
> The spoons on the wippens were at a dramatic angle. So much so that
> they were actually digging into the felt, much like a spade shovel
> digs into the ground

YEP!!!    That was IT !

Why I didn't notice it before I don't know.  The spoons were "twisted" or
"rotated" in a way one edge of the spoon  was tilted into the felt.  Not
that much if you can imagine that the spoon should sit at 9 to 3 o'clock in
relation to the "tail" felt but they were actually at 10 to 4.  Too tough to
move with hemostats and not enough room for needle nose pliers wrapped with
duct tape. I found the key pin turning tool fit just right to "turn" them
back wo taking the action apart.  It took more time to find the right tool
than to actually "turn" them back.   (2 minutes) (Only the tenor ones were
"tilted", treble and bass OK.   In so doing,  they now sit on a different
part of the felt and
the change in the feel of the action from chunky to ideal is dramatic.   The
difference between playing with the damper pedal down or not is no longer an
issue.  How long this should last is questionable but it is similar to
pushing
the center rail key pins forward or backwards to get out of the wear of the
felt.  Time will tell how long we can get away with this.

But in the meantime the client is happy, (I didn't tell her $2.00 amounted
to $60 an hour---rather high out here.), I am happy, the kid (8th grade
Band, playing English Horn and taking piano lessons) now has a decent piano
for a few years at least.

Thanks for the input.......

Richard Moody
                            "The only real mistake is the one from which we
learn nothing."
                                John Powell (1834-1902); American geologist
and ethnologist.



 From: "Keith McGavern" <kam544@gbronline.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Monday, March 08, 2004 9:24 AM
Subject: Re: Damper lever felts, dents in


> At 9:54 AM -0600 3/7/04, Keith McGavern wrote:
> >At 12:43 AM -0600 3/7/04, R Moody wrote:
> >>... why are some of the felts dented but not others in the
> >>area?
> >
> >My elementary answer is:
> >Those notes have been played more, and aggressively at that.
>
> Ric,
>
> I wanted to mention something that I remember produced a similar
> cupping in the damper lever lift rod felts.
>
> The spoons on the wippens were at a dramatic angle. So much so that
> they were actually digging into the felt, much like a spade shovel
> digs into the ground. On top of that the young piano player was a
> very enthusiastic, aggressive player.
>
> If that is the case, nothing short of replacing the felts and
> readjusting the spoons will resolve the situation. It will take some
> time to make it right if so. As I remember it wasn't a fun job, but
> necessary.
>
> A lot of bending!
>
> Keith
>
> --
> Keith McGavern                                    Texas State Association
> Registered Piano Technician                 SOONER SPRING SEMINAR
> Oklahoma Chapter 731                            March 11-14, 2004
> Piano Technicians Guild                        http://www.ptg.org/tsa/
> USA
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

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