[pianotech] My first square

[Joseph Garrett]

Paul said:
"A university that I tune for has received the gift of a restored
Schomacker square grand, circa 1870. Perhaps it was one of those things
they were compelled to accept, so as not to potentially offend a wealthy
donor -- a white elephant, if you will. 
 
I looked it over for a few minutes today. 
It is a truly beautiful piece of furniture. I don't know how long ago the
restoration was done; the strings and tuning pins look brand new, but it
sounds as if it has never been tuned since. Not one to back down from a
challenge, I'm going to attempt to tune this baby in the next few days. I
tried my regular tuning lever (with an extra long head) for size and it
looks like it should work fine. 
 
I have never attempted to tune a square before. I assume this piano should
not be tuned to A440, correct? Maybe 435? Anybody have any other advice?
 
Thanks,"
Paul,
Use the shortest head/tip that will "just" clear the damper levers! Do not
extend the tuning hammer. You first need to know the preparatory things
needed to do before putting tuning hammer to pin.<G> 1. Remove the music
desk "flapper". (take the right music desk mount off and slide the
"flapper" to the right, to remove.) 2.Remove the lid and get it out of the
way. If the "rebuilder" put anything other than removable hinge pins in,
they need to be altered so that the hinge pins are removeable just like a
standard grand.  3. Take the damper upstop rail off. Be careful about
dropping the nuts down into the action!DAMHIK 4. Make sure the "rebuilder"
labeled ALL of the tuning pins, else you spend an inordinate amount of time
trying to figure out which tuning pin you are one. I suggest putting a
white front rail punching on A4 and green ones on the other A's. If the
tuning pins are not labeled, you should do it with a Narrow Point Sharpie.
Do it neatly or have someone who does caligraphy do it for you. 5. Check to
make sure that all hammers are hitting the appropriate notes and are not
hanging up on neighbors. (one of the biggest mistakes of "rebuilders" is
they don't do an adequate job of thinning the hammers for proper clearance
and proper spacing.) 6. Pull the action, if necessary to get the spacing
right. The best thing would be to have an action truck to slide the action
on to. Always use the Wire Handle in the center of the front key frame
rail. Do not grab cheek blocks to remove, until all of the hammers are
clear of the stretcher! Otherwise, you WILL break a hammer in the action
removal process! 7. Strip the piano, using Hammer Spring Rail Cloth, Schaff
#311R/G.(I like to use a strip about 6' long.  Do not strip with standard
muting strips, it's too thick! Start stripping between the bottom-most
wound Bi-chords at the point where the last bi-chords on the long bridge
intersects. Push the strip down through that set of unisons. Use a 6"
machinist's ruler or such to do the pushing.<G> In this way you are muting
two sets of bi-chords with one "push".<G> 7. You are now ready to tune. I
suggest using an ETD to save your sanity. <G> What you do not know is
wether the "rebuilder" rescaled the piano for 440, unless you know who the
"rebuilder" was, in which case ASK! If that is not possible, then you will
have to ASSUME that the original strings were duplicated. In that case, I
would use 435 cps as a tuning standard, in relation to the age of the
piano. If it needs to be pitch raised, (and I suspect it does.<G>), use the
pitch raise program in your ETD or get my program from the December 1999
issue of the PTJ.
Well, that's the short version of how to do the piano. BTW, if you are not
5'6" tall you are going to have a great deal of back problems. Or, if you
are over 6'3", the same will apply. I suggest leaning against the case, as
you tune, to support your body more. Take numerous breaks!!! Do lots of
stretching exercises to keep yourself flexible and that should help the
back fatigue thing. Good stomach muscles help to support your back, btw.<G>
If you need additional assistance, please feel free to call or write.
Calling is easier, allbeit more expensive<G>but we can cover more
information w/o me getting hand cramps!
Good luck,
Joe


Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I