<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2604" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: = Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=rol= e_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV>In a message dated 4/15/2005 9:21:39 PM Central Standard Time, 741662027@theshusters.org writes:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><= FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size= =2> <DIV><FONT size=2>I've been studying piano technology for ten years, on = and off (I've passed the RPT written exam), and have been tuning professionall= y for a year and a half.  I've applied to North Bennet St. for this fall.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>I was just asked to take care of an S&S D for a lo= cal community college.  It's 1917 vintage (played by Rachmaninoff at one time!), and rebuilt by Steinway about ten years ago.  It's suffering = from humidity damage: 8" crack in the soundboard behind and under the treble br= idge and elsewhere, false beats in the low tenor (loose bridge pins?), and loos= e tuning pins in the bass.  One or two are so loose I was tempted to mu= te them, for fear they wouldn't survive a concert.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Of the needed repairs, the only one's I'm qualified to= do are to CA the loose pins, which I've done successfully three times previously.  I'll happily do this on someone's no-name, 100-year-old,= 4'8" neonatal grand with rusty strings, but I want to ask for advice befor= e doing anything irreversible to an instrument of this caliber.  I can = do the repair without side effects, I'm sure (I pull the action and use copio= us amounts of plastic tarps), but still...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Is the right thing to do to simply write up a report a= nd say that it needs a new pinblock, bridge cap, and at least epoxy in the soundboard cracks?  Or let Steinway re-evaluate it?  Is it bette= r to pull the loose pins and shim with sandpaper or veneer rather than risking CA?  Will Steinway scoff if they get a CA'd pinblock to replace?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Side note: it has a disassembled DC system... sigh...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>--Cy Shuster--</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>Bluefield, WV</FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV>Cy </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My suggestion would be to write a report about the condition of the pia= no. Make it matter of fact report. In other words, do not place blame on an= yone or anything. You should also state that you are making some stop gap repairs to keep the piano going. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Use whatever method you're comfortable with. CA glue is a good sta= rt. Since it is an older piano, that has been partially rebuilt, at this point, I wouldn't worry about what the boys at the Steinway factory are going = to think about you. You did your best just to keep the piano going.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Wim <DIV><FONT lang=0 face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF" PTSIZE="10"= >Willem Blees, RPT<BR>Piano Technician<BR>School of Music<BR>University of Alabama</FONT></DIV></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>