casters

[John Voigt]

Thanks Mike and all the others for the advice and info.

John Voigt

  -----Original Message-----
  From: Michael Magness [mailto:IFixPianos at yahoo.com]
  Sent: Friday, December 14, 2007 7:09 PM
  To: Pianotech List
  Subject: Re: casters





  On Dec 14, 2007 6:21 PM, John Voigt <jvoigt at gwtc.net> wrote:

    When I tuned a Yamaha P22 at a school today I was asked if I could fix
the
    two front casters as they would fall out when the piano had to be
lifted,
    such as when going over thresh-holds and such.  I didn't have my tilter
with
    me nor did I have the time to deal with it today.  That being said, even
    though I have seen the problem before, I have not tried to repair it.  I
    thought they are held in by a type of spring collar or something.  When
the
    stem drops out, is there a way (easy or otherwise) to repair it or is
    replacement the option?

    John Voigt



  Hi John,

  Yamaha in their wisdom(read with sarcasm) made the front socket collars
much smaller than the back ones however the socket itself is the same size.
They don't use a spring collar but rather a machined groove in the stem of
the caster that "clicks" past an indent in the socket. After the piano has
run into enough thresholds and other objects at breakneck speeds that indent
gets straightend out. If you have a friendly janitor(I usually make a point
of making friends with them, they have all of the keys!)who has a workroom
with a vice ask if you can use it for a few minutes. Place the socket in the
vice and using your largest screwdriver or a cold chisel of you have one and
a hammer, re-dent the sockets being careful not to smash them. I have placed
the caster in the socket and then re-dented to prevent smashing. I then pry
the caster out with the large screwdriver and re-install the socket usually
with better, longer screws than the original 1" ones.
  Hope that helps,
  Mike
  --
  People who say it can't be done, should not interrupt those of us who are
doing it.
  Michael Magness
  Magness Piano Service
  608-786-4404
  www.IFixPianos.com
  email mike at ifixpianos.com
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