remove spinet action

[Les Smith]

On Sat, 25 Oct 1997, Rob Stuart-Vail wrote:

> 
> List:
> 
> I may have to remove the action from a Fischer spinet.  There are damper 
> problems and the two action bolts (machine screws) that thread into the plate 
> have been cross-threaded and mutilated beyond use.  Brackets on the ends of 
> the action, with screws going into the case,  are providing the holding power 
> at the moment, and there is damper leakage because of it.
> 
> I removed two dampers with cracked (plastic) flanges and I'm hoping an epoxy 
> repair will be possible on these.  I may also be able to chase the threads for 
> 
> the action bolts and get those in properly, so that I may not  have to pull 
> the action (here's hoping).
> 
> However, if I do  have to take the action out, I need some advice on whether I 
> 
> can possibly take keys and action (maybe keyframe, too)  all at once, since 
> the sticker wires run through the ends of the keys, and the adjusting nuts on 
> the ends of the stickers are wood.  
> 
> Failing this,  should I make a saw cut in the end of each key to permit the 
> wire to pass through ? (just kidding, I think).  <g>.  When there is no 
> escaping it,  has anybody used a reversible electric drill to spin off and 
> replace the wood nuts?  I don't much fancy torturing my tennis elbow with 
> doing it by hand.
> 
> The client is willing to have me replace the plastic damper flanges if 
> necessary,  but I know there may be other problems once I get into it.  I 
> might have opted out at the beginning, but this is a neighbor and I hated to 
> say no.
> 
> Well, help!
> 
> Rob Stuart-Vail

You're about to learn how it feels to work on a bomb disposal squad, be-
cause that old Fischer spinet is a ticking time-bomb about to go off in
your face. If you have plastic damper flanges (and perhaps plastic damper
levers, too), you can bet that the hammer and wippen flanges will be plas-
tic as well. And maybe the jacks and jack flanges and lifter elbows, too.
If a couple of damper flanges have already broken, you can bet that every-
thing else is ready to go, too. If you try to adjust one of those leaking
dampers, you'll probably break the flange no matter how careful you are. 
If you try to tighten a lose hammer flange screw, not only will you most
likely break the hammer flange, but when you lightly push the jack aside
to access the hammer flange screw, you'll likely break the wippen flange,
or the jack flange, if it, too, is plastic. If you really want to dress
up for Halloween in a frightening costume, go as an old spinet piano with
an action full of disintegrating plastic parts! It will certainly scare
the stuffings out of any technicians who've ever had to work on one of
these nightmares, especially if they foolishly went in thinking at first
that they only had to replace "a couple" of broken parts and gave the
owner an estimate that reflected that naive belief. 

Before pulling the action, I suggest that you might want to closely ex-
amine the hammer flanges, the jacks and jack flanges, and the lifter el-
bows so that you can better assess just how much plastic is present in 
in the action and prepare both yourself and the piano's owner for the
can of worms you may be opening up when you tackle this thankless job.
The only way to do it right is to replace ALL the plastic parts with
wood. If you try to do it on an "as needed" basis, replacing the parts
a few at a time as they break and pulling the action over and over again
as you do, you might just as well take up residence in the customer's
home and the two of you plan on growing old together. A piece-meal ap-
proach just isn't practical, to say nothing about being an outrageously
expensive way to deal with a problem whose solution may already cost
as much as the value of the piano! 

One final suggestion, before recommending to the owner that he invest
the considerable sum involved in replacing all the plastic action parts
with new wooden ones, take a close look at the piano's bridges, sound-
board and even key bushings. If you talk the owner into a major invest-
ment in rebuilding the action and AFTERWARDS discover that the bass
bridge is shot, and will need replacement, too, before the piano can be
tuned, I guarantee you that your customer will not be a "happy camper"
and neither will you! 

Carefully assess the situation before getting involved further. Or, as
"Buck Staghorn" says on his animal show, "Watch where you step!"

Les Smith
lessmith@buffnet.net