what to do, what to do...

[Dean May]

Looks pretty normal to me for a 70 year old piano. Those are the joints of
the wood planks, not what I would call cracks (can you fit a shim in them?).
I would treat the rim and ribs with thin CA. Go ahead and treat the pins
with CA if they are marginal. 

 

I wouldn't mention the cracks. If she does, explain they are normal for a
piano of that age, even if there are cracks you have treated the soundboard
to mitigate any negatives they would cause, you have thoroughly gone over
the action and you'll give it a full 5 year warranty. Exude confidence that
the piano is fine and don't back off your price. 

 

Surely you can nurse any piano for 5 years. Though it should be fine for
much longer. And even if disaster strikes you have two options that you
should be prepared to make: refund the purchase price or replace it with a
comparable piano. You should clear up that your warranty gives you the
discretion of repair, replacement or refund. You should be able to replace
it for less than what she is purchasing it for. 

 

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of daniel carlton
Sent: Friday, May 23, 2008 12:36 PM
To: pianotech mailing list
Subject: what to do, what to do...

 

hello list

 

a customer of mine had a piano that belonged to her recently deceased father
and she wanted to give it to someone that could make some good use of it, so
i took it thinking i could tune it, shape the hammers a little, do a quick
regulation and sell it. it's a Bradbury #111850, ca 1933.

 

i had another customer wanting to upgrade from her current piano, so i
showed it to her, explaining i would clean it, service it, and tune it. we
decided on a price and approximate date of deliverly.

 

my main problem now is that since i moved it into my shop, hairline cracks
have developed in the soundboard. you should be able to see them in the
photo i've attached. now i realize that's not necessarily a big deal as far
as the sound and playability of the piano, but the problem is that the
potential buyer didn't know about it when she decided to purchase it, and i
had no way of knowing it would do that. i'm thinking i'll just explain that
the cracks only developed after sitting in my shop and i could take a little
off the price. any thoughts, suggestions, ideas?

 

thanks

 

daniel carlton

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