Hi Tom, Thanks for your input. Yes, Yat Lam is FULL of wisdom and information isn't he? We're lucky to have him in our local chapter. My greatest problem with replacment snap on Vagias elbows of the past? Well, 2 problems actually.. 1. I have seen many-many of the snap on's re-break. Right at the joint where they snap in to the whippen pin. Of course, this was 25-30 years ago when I received the advice from Yat Lam too. Perhaps that was why. At that time, I had such a serious continuous problem with them re-breaking that Vagias agreed to send me many replacement sets if I in return, sent back the broken parts. I receieved no compensation in labor of course. This was done gratis on my behalf for the customer. Unfortunately, that didn't prevent them from re-breaking later on either. Usually within a couple of years or less. I brought this problem up at chapter meetings, talked with as many different techs about this as I could but it seems not to many others were encountering this problem. I was installing tons of them back then. Nobody ever did seem to figure out what was causing it short of probably just a bunch of bad batches I guess. So, that's where my thoughts were coming from. My 2nd problem which I still run into if I ever have to replace even one of them is this. The keys would stick after the snap ons were installed. I always figured it had something to do with the opening in the jaw of the snap on elbow but never did figure it out. Once again, I went to everyone I could think of for advice but, nobody else seemed to be encountering that problem either. I tried everything I could think of to prevent it or stop it from marking the wires so that they were re-installed in exactly the same locations and positions to marking where the old elbows were and screwing the new ones on to the mark and then stopping etc., but, nothing worked so, I finally just said, piss on it. I won't work on them. :) Jer -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Tom Driscoll Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 9:15 AM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] Lester Spinet ----- Original Message ----- From: "Gerald Groot" <tunerboy3 at comcast.net> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Lester Spinet > If you're lucky, the previous tuner replaced them with wooden elbow's. I > remember about 30 years ago, Yat Lam Hong asking me what I used to replace > elbow's. My answer? Clip on plastic elbows. I thought it was the norm. > His response? "Why you use plastic to replace plastic? Why not use wood? > Won't break." Logical response. Since then, that's what I've done. He's > right. Sometimes the clip ons break again, especially years later. > Wooden > ones will not. > > Jer Jer, Respecfully to Mr. Hong I disagree. The plastic today has no relationship to that of 1948. The advice is outdated in my opinion. Back in the 70's it was a tough sell to use plastic to replace failed plastic but this is a new world my Bro. I never offer another option when I stumble across on of these jobs and I've NEVER seen a new generation elbow break. I'm down to one every year or so as around here most of these pianos have either had the elbows replaced or the piano has been retired . . Best to you , Tom D. P.S. I was a young tech when Mr Hong was Journal editor and his contributions were of great help to me.
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