Actually I’ve made a few of these Fred (Susan Graham’s wonderful PTJ damper
series) for myself and friends.
The point I was trying to make though, and you’ve pretty much picked up on
below, is that trends and technology have left much of the old supply house
catalog (jiffy leads, springy key-bushing clamps etc.) behind, and with
e-communication, new methods catch on almost instantly, as opposed to
monthly/ annually.
So perhaps we need to follow through on tools/products discussed here by
lobbying our favourite suppliers to offer them.
I used the guide-rail easer for illustration, as it’s such an obvious piece
of low-risk/easy-sell inventory for a supplier to offer anyone that’s
already purchased their soldering iron... and great cross-selling for those
who haven’t. (now they’re a potential client for key-bushing broaches... a
hammer–iron, etc.)
Again, this is a tool, one of many, that isn’t in any supply catalog I know
of, that no-one who has, would want to be without, yet I venture most
technicians still aren’t aware of. So when I see something like this,
I mention it to my favourite suppliers (Pianotek for one!) as you suggest,
and/or the one that seems most likely to benefit by bringing it to the
market.
Pianoforte supply is a great example. Jurgen’s company emerged only a few
years ago with quality products we could immediately appreciate, but may
have been entirely unaware of, or had trouble accessing. Who would know
about Crescendo punchings, and would we have André O’s watershed new book
“Voice of the Piano” if Jurgen hadn’t taken the risk to *lead* in the
marketplace?
So when we discuss evolving pinblock and soundboard technology (for
instance) that appears to be taking root, and notice a manufacturer with
some willingness to *lead* I think (as Fred suggests) we should let them
know.
Let them sift the “good ideas” from the “genuinely good ideas,” and the
tire-kickers from repeat clients, but let them hear from us. Tell them what
you want.
With best wishes and reasonably good intentions,
Mark Cramer, RPT
Brandon University
PS Take a risk... several years ago good intent motivated me to persuade a
domestic supplier to add #1/0 tuning pins to their inventory. I offered to
write a tech bulletin to explain the benefits to get stock moving out the
door, but they politely declined. Now #1/0 pins have near-permanent status
on their clearance list :>(
So once again, I really don’t know what the heck I’m talking about, but I do
know how to get a really great price on the parts *I* need! ;>)
On May 5, 2009, at 7:06 PM, Mark Cramer wrote:
> (I'm still waiting for Pianotek to add a guide-rail sizing broach to
> their
> inventory of things you can stick in the end of a hot soldering
> iron...
No need to wait, make your own. It takes all of 5-10 minutes.
>
> 2.) If he would consider radiusing the ribs for his pre-crowned
> soundboards?
I believe Nick Gravagne offers soundboards with radiused ribs, if my
memory serves from when he still lived in NM and we visited his shop.
Maybe he will chime in and confirm.
In general terms. suppliers gear up when there is demand. Which
means
someone writes about something in the Journal, teaches about using it
in classes, etc. Like Stanwood's various gizmos for measuring weight,
which Pianotek picked up after a few years had gone by. I think there
are plenty of people out there willing to gear up and sell, but only
when it becomes profitable to do so (meaning there is demand).
Persuade Marinelli that some jig or tool is worthwhile, and he'll
probably add it to his classes and to his offerings. Same with a lot
of other folks.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC