Let's cut to the chase was Re: Guidelines comments

[Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel)]

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Wim,
 
I've often wondered about the number of hours it takes to wear out a set of
hammers...of course its impossible to know exactly how many hours certain
pianos are used, but some educated guessing can be done. Also, the
definition of "worn out" will differ with what the intended use is, of
course. Our most popular practice room piano is a Steinway L which was built
in 1987. We have three other Ls purchased at the same time, but this one is
the most popular for some reason (closest to the elevator? Closest to the
bathroom?) People play this piano into the ground. It is a locked practice
room for piano majors only. Our building opens at 7AM and closes at 11PM. I
think it is safe to say that this piano is used that whole time, though to
be conservative I will just suppose it is actually played 12 hours a day, 7
days a week counting slack time and breaks. People are here year-round and
we have a number of summer programs which keep the practice rooms humming,
so I'll guess 350 days a year. This comes to 4,200 hours hard playing per
year. By nursing them along, I get two years from a set of hammers on this
piano with the last 6 months being terrible (they keep playing it though).
So I will guess that 6,000 - 8,000 hours is the absolute limit. The previous
two sets I put on were Abels, but I just put a set of Steinway hammers on
which I assume (and hope) will last longer...the piano certainly sounds
better - maybe it will get used even more and wear out just as quickly. I've
been doing a little informal experimentation to find out which hammers will
last longer. Abels and Ronsens seem to melt away rather quickly. The
older-style Baldwin hammers last a bit longer (we still have a supply of
those here) and Steinway hammers last the longest. 
 
This same Steinway is on its third set of strings in the capo section and by
the feel of things can be strung quite a few more times (leaving the pins
in). I've been restringing those sections when I replace the hammers because
there will generally be about 20 spliced strings by that time.
 
I think it is helpful to us all to share this kind of information so we can
know what other people are doing or have tried, but it is probably not
possible to quantify this information in anything but general terms. Keeping
track of maintenance needs helps me in allocating my parts budget, but I am
certain that budget will not increase until the State decides to give us
more money - in other words, probably not in my lifetime. On the other hand,
I am sure there are programs out there which don't have a parts budget and
would benefit from an analysis of needs. If an administrator came up in such
a situation and said, "We've seen the light. We want you to let us know how
much money you need for a parts budget.", how would you decide if you didn't
know how often hammers or strings need replacing? With our experience we
should be able to help this person come up with a realistic figure. 
 
With this in mind, I can see a general protocol being helpful and perhaps a
future addendum to the guidelines both for full-time and contractual
technicians looking to establish or justify a budget. Something like:
Practice room hammer replacement: heavy use 2-3 years, light use 10-15
years, and so-on. The bean-counters are not in charge of our interaction
with pianos or people, but they sure like to have information they can
quantify before they will give you an allowance. Once we get our allowance
it is up to us to decide how it is best used.
 
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
Eric Wolfley
Head Piano Technician
Cincinnati College-Conservatory of Music
University of Cincinnati
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~
 
-----Original Message-----
From: Wimblees@aol.com [mailto:Wimblees@aol.com]
Sent: Friday, June 13, 2003 9:36 AM
To: caut@ptg.org
Subject: Let's cut to the chase was Re: Guidelines comments
 
In a message dated 6/11/03 4:49:00 PM Central Daylight Time,
Wimblees@aol.com writes:



I'm wondering if we, as a committee, can come up with some general
guidelines that gives more definitive information to the bean counters that
will give them a better idea as to how long a piano will last if it is used
x number of hours per year, and how often it needs to be reconditioned, or
rebuilt.  


Bean counters not withstanding, this is still a question I would like to
have answered. 

Airplanes fly a certain number of hours before they are reconditioned and
eventually put in the graveyard out in Arizona. We get a maintenance
schedule for our cars. But what are some guidelines for pianos? 

How many "hours" of playing do a set of hammers get before needing to be
replaced? How many times can we restring a piano in the original pin block.
When does a soundboard need replacing? How many times can a piano be
rebuilt, with a new soundboard and pin block and strings? 

Last year this subject was talked about briefly, but I don't think we ever
got a definitive answer. I realize these are all questions with lots of
answers, based on usage, climate control, budgets, etc. But this is the kind
of information that would be useful, even to techs out in the field. 

Any one want to give some answers?

Wim 



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