Once in a life time problem

[Rob Goodale]

I had a P-22 that did this at the university.  I discovered the screws for the pivot lever spring were stripping and pulling out of the bottom of the piano.  I tipped the piano on it's back, drilled the original holes all the way through, and installed machine screws with T-nuts.  The problem was forever solved.

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV



To: pianotech at ptg.org 
Sent: Thursday, January 25, 2007 7:28 PM
Subject: A once-in-a lifetime-problem


I have a customer with a beautiful Sohmer console from the 1960's, a model 34-96 I believe. He complained 
of an echo. When I got there I loosened the nut on the damper pedal and it went away.
A few weeks later, he called me with the same problem. I was baffled. What could possibly be causing
the lost motion to DECREASE in a pedal? It's always the other way around. When I inspected the trap work closely, I found the answer. The heavy spring on which the trap lever pivots, shaped like a Sigma, that connects the trap lever to the piano's floor was slowly breaking from metal fatigue! And as it was coming apart, the top part of the spring was coming up from the bottom part of the spring, thus pushing the pedal rod up, and lifting the dampers off the strings! Has anybody out there ever seen this problem?

Jesse Gitnik
NYC
In business since 1980
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