Everett Pinblock Repair

[Lawrence Becker]

At 10:11 AM 1/25/02, you wrote:
>List,
>I've got a handful of old Everett studios, some of which have the pinblock
>pulling away problem.  These pianos aren't currently in critical situations
>and are more or less surplus, so they don't receive a lot of attention.
>But we're considering "loaning" some to other entities on campus for
>informal use, and I'd be responsible for maintaining them.  I could loan
>them old Hamiltons, but I'd rather keep those here for music students.
>
>Is it absolutely necessary to lower the tension to do the repair of
>replacing the pinblock screws with bolts which go all the way through the
>frame? or can one leave the tension up and simply clamp each section during
>the process?
>
>I'm trying to keep time spent to a minimum.  If I have to lower tension,
>that increases the risk of string breakage and subsequent repair, meaning
>more frequent trips across campus after delivery for retuning.  If it's
>going to be more trouble than it's worth, I'll just send a Hamilton.
>
>Thanks,
>Jeff
>
>Jeff Tanner
>Piano Technician
>School of Music
>University of South Carolina
>Columbia, SC 29208
>(803)-777-4392 (phone)

Jeff-

I have repaired a few of these Everetts with the separation.  After the 
first couple, I thought to save time by not lowering string tension, but 
found that the C-clamps I was using were not strong enough to close the gap 
against the pull of the strings at tension.  So, I went back to lowering 
tension.  The lowering doesn't take much time, and the piano was going to 
need a pitch raise anyway, so I figured I wasn't out much more than an 
extra hour.  Plus, I couldn't figure how to do the job without it anyhow.

I still clamped a section at a time, drilling out the lag screw hole, 
released tension to spread the glue, then re clamping, installing and 
tightening the new bolt.  (I just don't like drilling through wet 
glue.)  Then on to the next section.  The new bolt holds well enough to 
keep the gap closed until the glue dries.  Then next day, pull back up to 
tension.  Good, stable repair.  There was a Journal article in finer detail 
awhile back.

I never had string breakage problems, but I was extra careful with the 
coils in the low bass.  After a couple tunings, these pianos are more 
stable than they were before the repair.

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Lawrence Becker, RPT
Piano Technician
College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
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