Last week I had to replace a damaged dolly on a truck supporting a S&S D. It was under the bass leg. I had just finished installing a truck under a 6 footer, using wood blocks/wedges to support the truck and keep the arms from swinging up, but for this job I was going to jack up the bass corner of the piano without putting any blocks under the other two arms, and let the weight of the piano lift the bass arm up, giving me perfect access to the caster. Well, to my astonishment, the truck arm did not rise into the air. Instead, the piano leg came up off of the truck, and the truck remained firmly on the floor. I'm not advocating installation without blocks, but it would appear that the forces are very close to balanced, and the blocks are not carrying much, if any, load. In this case, I was able to easily lift the bass arm and block it up, and changed out the caster that way. Thinking about it afterwards, it occurred to me that how the casters are aligned probably determines whether or not the truck will tip, but I didn't pay attention to the casters at the time. Mike Spalding wimblees at aol.com wrote: > Tom > > The block of wood under the arm method is almost fool proof, and will > prevent the other legs from going up in the air. I've installed > several tucks under 9' pianos be myself, with no problem. > > Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT > Piano Tuner/Technician > Mililani, Oahu, HI > 808-349-2943 > Author of: > The Business of Piano Tuning > available from Potter Press > www.pianotuning.com > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Tom Driscoll <tomtuner at verizon.net> > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Sent: Mon, 19 Jan 2009 6:37 pm > Subject: Re: [pianotech] Grand Piano Truck instalation > > Paul, > It ain't that simple. I've put a few on by myself with a jack system > and blocks of wood between the floor and the bottom of device near the > caster but the operation was risky at best. I now employ my piano > movers to lift the piano off the ground whilst I (with alacrity) place > the device under each leg. > The problem is that the weight of the piano wants to lift the other > two legs of the truck off the floor. > > > Also resist the temptation to use church members, football players or > any combination thereof. Grand pianos in the air held by people who > have never lifted one with you underneath equals not good. There will > undoubtedly be one hero who will jerk the thing up and throw everyone > else off balance or one guy who needs a new grip. > I'm not trying to be an alarmist here. I get everything ready before > the crew arrives and they are back in the truck in 15 minutes. Just > price the job to cover the cost of the help and relax. > I think we went over this on list a few years ago and some of our > compatriots may have some more input. > Best wishes and be careful ! > Tom Driscoll > > Subject: [pianotech] Grand Piano Truck instalation > > Just received an email asking if I could install a grand piano truck > on a church piano. I emailed back requesting name of piano and length > of the grand. After 33 years of tuning I have not installed a grand > piano truck. After removing the casters and extending the adjustable > arms on the piano truck, which leg should I start with? Thank you in > advance for guiding me. > > Paul Milkie > > ____________________________________________________________ > > > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > *A Good Credit Score is 700 or Above. See yours in just 2 easy steps! > <http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1216817552x1201106465/aol?redir=http://www.freecreditreport.com/pm/default.aspx?sc=668072%26hmpgID=82%26bcd=DecemailfooterNO82>* >
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