Up & Down

[Sy Zabrocki]

To John--from Sy Zabrocki

This extreme up and down condition might be more prevalent in a church or school. In the winter months in Montana these buildings can get tinder dry when the furnace is on all winter. Every last bit of moisture is extracted from the piano. Then in the summer (especially this summer) the furnace is turned off and the spring humidty comes flooding in. The thirsty wood drinks in as much as it can. 

In a home there is some humidity from the bathroom, kitchen, laundry, plants and even people. The cubic area in the home is also smaller than the church or school. This summer's humidty has been extreme. I've been lowering pianos for weeks.

Sy Zabrocki
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From: 	John R Fortiner[SMTP:pianoserv440@juno.com]
Sent: 	Monday, September 29, 1997 8:48 AM
To: 	pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: 	Up & Down

List:  If you can give me some clues, hints, etc. regarding this
situation I would really appreciate it.
	I have, over the past 3 years, been servicing a Bradford uprt. in
a nearby church.  The first time I tuned it I had to lower pitch at A4
42c.  The lady that was in charge of the music for the church told me
that the last person that tuned the piano had had to raise the pitch
quite a bit and wondered if he had raised it too far.  At the time, I
thought that was a possibility.  However, since then, I have had to raise
the pitch 40c in the spring, then lower it in the fall, then raise it
again in the spring, etc.  The pitch changes have been about equal each
time within 3-4c.  I am stumped as the humidity has been between 30 and
45% each time that I have worked on it.  Yesterday, I tuned the piano
again (fall tuning) to find that the instrument was 45c high  at A4 and
closer to 80c high in the top octave(no wonder they said it sounded
terrible with their other instruments.  The bass is staying rather stable
(rises and falls a few cents), but the tenor and treble really stray from
where they are supposed to be.  
	Before you ask, yes, I have tightened all available plate
hardware that goes into the wood structure.  Tuning pins are nice and
tight, but not overly so.  The piano is about 2 feet from a baseboard
heater which has a shield to protect the back of the instrument from
gross temp/ R.H. changes.
	The church's flooring is wooden over a basement that also has a
piano in it.  The downstairs piano stays nice and stable (+/- 3-4c).  Is
it possible that the flooring is shifting enough with weather changes to
"tweak" the piano THAT far?
	Any and all input regarding this will greatly be appreciated.
 
	Thanks in advance for any input that you can give in this matter.

                                                                     
John Fortiner
                                                                      
e-mail: pianoserv440@juno.com