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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This is the way I do it although I do check two or
three of the other locations described just because I like the concept of
triangulation, not that ithis is technically that but more than one source in
agreement can be reassuring, or more misleading.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Chris Solliday</FONT> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=andrew@andersonmusic.com
href="mailto:andrew@andersonmusic.com">Andrew Anderson</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=caut@ptg.org
href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and University Technicians</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, July 23, 2006 9:38 AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Agraff levels</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>Seems to me the important goal here is to be parallel to the
plane on which the hammers travel from side to side (una corda). That
means a carpenter's level on the key-bed, does it not? Then place
carpenter's shims under the low caster until the bubble centers. Because
agraffes are rarely on the same level (at least they aren't in the
american-make-only schools I work at), level each set of unisons by
agraffe.<BR><BR>Andrew Anderson<BR><BR>At 04:31 PM 7/21/2006, you wrote:<BR>
<BLOCKQUOTE class=cite cite="" type="cite">AND ... ALL
stages and floors are NOT alike.<BR> <BR>SO
... Don't forget to "level"
the piano before you use your bubble gauge.<BR> <BR>Your strings
might "tilt" in the direction of the Sun, just like the
earth. <BR>( aka : Summer Time -- "Global Warming"
) Performers "heat up" when<BR>their strings
aren't level. ( Remember = spell it backwards : L e
v e L ).<BR> <BR>This is very important to remember.
How does one level the piano ??<BR>Try a longer, straight ( carpenter's )
level across the majority of strings, or<BR>from side-to-side across the rim
of the piano ( just behind the music desk),<BR>or on top of the
stretcher. [ it'll be close enough to check it.
] Then,<BR>Shims under the casters will work, or use a
jack ( in the box ) on the low side.<BR>( having a student hold it up on one
side won't be stable enough.)<BR> <BR>Do all of this ONLY
--- if you want it to be "accurate."
.... Etarucca !!<BR> <BR> <BR>Dan Tassin,
RPT<BR>Asst. Piano Tech,<BR>Vanderbilt, Blair
SOM<BR> <BR>-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------<BR> <BR>On
Thu, 20 Jul 2006 08:40:22 -0400 "Becker, Lawrence \(beckerlr\)" <<A
href="mailto:BECKERLR@ucmail.uc.edu">BECKERLR@ucmail.uc.edu</A> >
writes:<BR>
<DL><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>Joe-<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>I have a way that works for me to use your
bubble gauge near the struts and where there isn’t room between the
dampers and v-bar. I use a short section of flat brass that has been
squared at both ends. Stand it upright on the strings just in front
of the damper, with the bottom of the level in solid contact with the top
of the brass piece. I center the bubble, then pluck the
strings. (Different than sitting the gauge on the strings and seeing
where the bubble goes.) Trying to hold both pieces in one hand might
feel a little fumbly at first, but if I can do it, so can most other
folks.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>Lawrence Becker, RPT<BR></B></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>Piano Technician<BR></B></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>College-Conservatory of
Music<BR></B></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=4>University of Cincinnati<BR>
<HR>
<DIV align=center></FONT></DIV>
<DD><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>From:</B> caut-bounces@ptg.org [<A
href="mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org" eudora="autourl">
mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org</A>] On Behalf Of </B>Joe And Penny Goss<BR>
<DD>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 19, 2006 3:45 PM<BR>
<DD>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR>
<DD>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Agraff levels<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Hi Should have proofed<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Their<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>The thinner vial is inserted into a hole drilled into the
1/4" body of the level with a window that helps make certain the tool is
used in the same orientation each and every time.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>The most often asked question?<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>"Does the piano need to be level?"<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Yes, but only to determine if the bubble is in the
window. If it is, level to the same spot.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>If it is not, one needs to shim a leg.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>With uneven agraff,<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>level the strings to the foot of the tool with the least
slant, and file the hammer to mate the string.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>At the struts often one or two unisons can not be leveled
with the foot. Eric Schandall showed me how he lays the level on its side
under the strut to reach these strings. <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Eric has purchased 20 or so levels. I think he gives them
away to folks who attend Steinway seminars and do not have one
<g><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">Joe Goss RPT<BR>
<DD>Mother Goose Tools<BR>
<DD><A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR>
<DD><A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.mothergoosetools.com</A><BR></FONT>
<DL><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>----- Original Message ----- <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>From:</B> <A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">Joe And
Penny Goss</A> <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>To:</B> <A href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">College and
University Technicians</A> <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 19, 2006 1:16
PM<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Agraff levels<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Hi Lance,<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>To my knowledge string - hammer mating was never done
on the level ( sorry ) that it is today.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>It was more a mater of mating the hammer to whatever
the strings were. Sorry if there was a problem when the una corda pedal
was used.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>It may have been Fazioli who was the first to use a
level on their instruments. There level was / is <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>a piece of brass H channel with a vial in the top and
the base cut so it will cover just one unison.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Very light and for me too light. When one plucks the
string too hard to test for good mating, the level tends to bounce off
the unison.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>I introduced my first level at the Orlando national. It
was way too light. Only 10 were made.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>We settled on using a brass blank that weighs about 45
grams and with the vial almost 50 grams.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>The only real change in the brass model was to use a
thinner vial so that the tool would stand up a little better to dropage
without the vial popping off.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">Joe Goss RPT<BR>
<DD>Mother Goose Tools<BR>
<DD><A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR>
<DD><A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.mothergoosetools.com</A><BR></FONT>
<DL><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>----- Original Message ----- <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>From:</B> <A
href="mailto:lafargue@bellsouth.net">lafargue@bellsouth.net</A>
<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>To:</B> <A href="mailto:caut@ptg.org">'College and
University Technicians'</A> <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Sent:</B> Wednesday, July 19, 2006 8:42
AM<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Agraff levels<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>At the beginning of this thread I was
concerned about an Estonia with tilted agraffes and uneven
agraffe/string holes. It was to the point that I couldn't bend a
string enough to compensate for good string/hammer mating. I have seen
this on other pianos, but not this much. <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>It would be interesting to know who
makes agraffes and are the plate makers aware of the importance of a
level plane (duh, probably). With the increase in our world-wide
market for parts now, I wonder who makes them. <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT color=#0000ff size=2>The bottom line is that you cannot prep
a piano to a high level without this to lay a foundation on.
<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">Lance Lafargue,
RPT<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD>LAFARGUE PIANOS, LTD<BR><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">New Orleans</FONT> Chapter,
PTG<BR><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">985.72P.IANO<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2><A
href="mailto:lafargue@bellsouth.net">lafargue@bellsouth.net</A><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT size=2><A href="http://www.lpianos.com/"
eudora="autourl">www.lpianos.com</A><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><BR><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT>
<DL><BR>
<DD><FONT face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR>
<DD>From:</B> caut-bounces@ptg.org [<A
href="mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org" eudora="autourl">
mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org</A>] On Behalf Of </B>Fred Sturm<BR>
<DD>Sent:</B> Tuesday, July 18, 2006 8:53 AM<BR>
<DD>To:</B> College and University Technicians<BR>
<DD>Subject:</B> Re: [CAUT] Agraff levels<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">I don't know where Steinway
buys agraffes, but they now own Kelly Plate, and they have upgraded
that facility to install a computer controlled drilling process. The
spacing of agraffes in new pianos is MUCH better in the past two to
three years. I suspect the square of the holes (hence lack of cant
of the agraffes) is much better, too - I haven't noticed much
trouble leveling strings on the few new instruments I have serviced.
They used to have Kelly drill their plates. Bad idea.
<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">All that said, perfection of
hole drilling in cast iron is iffy at best. The unevenness of the
material itself causes bits to chatter, at least in my experience.
It's not like drilling brass.<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Regards,<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Fred
Sturm<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>University of New
Mexico<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><A
href="mailto:fssturm@unm.edu">fssturm@unm.edu</A><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><BR></FONT><BR><FONT
face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><BR><BR></FONT>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Times New Roman, Times">On Jul 17, 2006, at 8:04 PM,
Willem Blees wrote:<BR></FONT><BR><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR><BR></FONT>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>It sounds like we're
talking about two different issues. One is the <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>level of the agraff
itself, compared to the level of the of the plate. <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>What you claiming is
that the plane of the agraff holes are not level <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>with the plate. Which
could be caused by poor drilling, or that the <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>counter sink of the
agraff hole is not flat, which will cause the <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>agraff to cant to one
side when it is tightened. <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>The other issue is the
holes in the agraff, which is what I was <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>referrring to. Although
there might be very minute differnces in the <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>plane of the holes
compared to the top of the agraff, I think the holes <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>themselves are level.
<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>BTW, does Steinway make
their own agraffs, or are they outsourced?<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1><BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Wim <BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Willem Blees,
RPT<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Piano
Tuner/Technician<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>School of
Music<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>University of
Alabama<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT face="Helvetica, Helvetica" size=1>Tuscaloosa, AL
USA<BR></FONT><BR>
<DD><FONT
face="Times New Roman, Times"><BR></FONT><BR> </DD></DL></DD></DL></DD></DL>
<DD><BR> </DD></DL></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>