should I repair, replace, retreat, or recommend a recking ball on Thomas vertical?

[Wayne Walker]

 I came across 1 about 6 months ago and I ran.
 
Wayne Walker
Piano Tuner / Technician
Musicstop Acoustic Piano Service
264 Herring Cove Road
Halifax, NS, Canada
B3P 1M1
902-221-1540
902-496-6924 Fax
HYPERLINK "http://www.musicstop.com/"www.musicstop.com

-----Original Message-----
From: alan forsyth [mailto:alan at forsythalan.wanadoo.co.uk] 
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 4:09 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: should I repair, replace, retreat,or recommend a recking
ball on Thomas vertical?


Sounds to me like a Lindener. Run away. No spares available since 1978.

AF
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Ultsch" <HYPERLINK
"mailto:multsch at jvlnet.com"multsch at jvlnet.com>
To: "pianotech" <HYPERLINK "mailto:pianotech at ptg.org"pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 25, 2006 4:56 PM
Subject: should I repair, replace, retreat,or recommend a recking ball
on Thomas vertical?


> hi folks,
> 
> I've run across an "interesting" non-standard piano with an
> uninteresting problem.
> 
> It is a Thomas model PT vertical.  Serial no. 041384.  The nameplate
> lists the manufacturer as Thomas Organ of Sepulveda California.
> Pierce atlas lists only Thomas Piano (not Thomas Organ) as being from
> Sepulveda.  So, how old is this, anyway?
> 
> The theory of operation is standard, but the only action components
> that look standard are the damper felts, hammers and shanks.  It
> certainly isn't a high-grade piano, but is intriguing from an
> mechanical design standpoint.
> 
> The plate is a weldment and the keybed (also a weldment) is attached
> to it with machine screws and locator pins.  The action is removed
> extremely easily by flipping two spring steel clips on the top of two
> action brackets.  Components are either plastic or stamped steel.  For
> instance, the spoons are an integral part of the wippen formed from
> sheet stock.  Backchecks are stampings with  buckskin glued to them.
> Adjustments (including key height and dip) are made with plastic jack
> screws.  Wippen, hammer and damper flanges are insert injected plastic
> pieces with (what appears to be) spring steel inside.  They fit into
> approx 1/2" channel rails like mini plastic clothes pins with the
> springs reversed.  I can't find any screws holding these in place,
> either.
> 
> The problem is the damper flanges have a small protruding ear that
> retains the damper (torsion) spring end.  The spring torsion places
> tension on the ear and many of these ears in the bass flanges are
> broken off, leaving the dampers to freely wander in space somewhere
> between the strings and the damper stop rail.
> 
> Questions:  Are these flanges of the soon-to-be-powder plastic type
> like old plastic flanges or elbows?  Are new flanges available and, if
> so, will standard center pins work?  Or, I'm wondering if I can get a
> dab of epoxy to serve as a prosthetic ear on the existing broken
> flanges to hold the spring end (I'll try gluing a broken piece but I
> doubt it, though).  Is it worth it to replace or repair?
> 
> Disclaimer:  Please correct me if some of my observations may be off a
> bit:  It's bifocal time.
> 
> Thanks for your comments and suggestions.
> 
> Mark Ultsch, RPT
> Madison Chapter
> 
> 
> 


-- 
No virus found in this outgoing message.
Checked by AVG Free Edition.
Version: 7.1.394 / Virus Database: 268.10.4/399 - Release Date:
7/25/2006
 
  
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20060725/bdae8af1/attachment-0001.html 
-------------- next part --------------
A non-text attachment was scrubbed...
Name: not available
Type: image/jpeg
Size: 60380 bytes
Desc: not available
Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20060725/bdae8af1/attachment-0001.jpe