[pianotech] Lester Console, was Lester Spinet

[James Grebe]

Those plastic parts are worse than plastic elbows, especially the jacks and 
backchecks.
James
James Grebe Est. 1962
Piano Tuner-Technician
Creator of Custom Caster Cups
Creator of fine Writing Instruments
Theatre and Theatre Organ Historian
www.grebepiano.com
1526 Raspberry Lane
Arnold, MO 63010
(314) 608-4137
Become what you believe
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Rob McCall" <rob at mccallpiano.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Wednesday, July 14, 2010 5:53 PM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Lester Console, was Lester Spinet


Thanks to everyone who replied to my message. The insight I've gleaned from 
this conversation will come in handy someday.  Unfortunately, it wasn't 
today!  :-)

I arrived at the appointment and was led to a Lester piano.  But it was 
taller...  Turned out to be a console from 1946.  Had the cutout ends off 
the back of the keys and a very compact action.  It did have some plastic 
parts in an unbroken state, including the backchecks and the back end of the 
wippen, which had a capstan screw drilled through and inserted through the 
plastic and facing downward on to the back end of the key.

The problems were many, including: several loose hammer flanges, bass 
dampers that wouldn't dampen and would only raise with the key but not with 
the pedal (above the break was fine), numerous sticking keys, broken 
keytops, one broken key (E5, at the balance rail pin), etc.

When they bought the piano, they thought it was 15 years old.  They only 
missed by 49 years!

Anyway, I was going over the items with the wife and she seemed agreeable, 
but wanted to spread out the repairs for her budget. I was telling her the 
most important things that needed to be fixed, when Sergeant Husband walked 
in, overhearing our conversation, and very loudly stated, "We are NOT 
spending anymore money on this piano, I already spent $125 buying it!  It 
just needs to be tuned and that'll be good enough for the kids!"

So, it got a 60-100 cent pitch raise and a tuning...  and a shy smile from 
the wife who told me to email her the list of needed repairs...  :-)

So we'll see how this goes!

Regards,

Rob McCall

McCall Piano Service, LLC
www.mccallpiano.com
Murrieta, CA
951-698-1875



On Jul 14, 2010, at 04:43 , Gerald Groot wrote:

> 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