make it fit!

[Christopher D. Purdy]

Man, I have seen a bunch of cases like this.  I have made more calls to
estimate damage to pianos by so called movers (yeah buddy, we move grands
all the time) than I can shake a cat at.  I have seen key frames jacked up
by using the wrong screw, rims split out because they put the piano on it's
side resting on the lid, once they even put the longer of the three legs in
the wrong place giving the piano a very obvious lean to one side.  You
would think they had to notice the crazy thing tilted like a ski slope.
The funniest story is one I can't tell here.

Sorry, you sort of hit a pet peeve of mine.

chris

She called Tuesday stating that she just moved into her new location and
>that her Yamaha grand had 1/3 of the keys jammed so they wouldn't go down
>and play and that the movers told her one of the nuts fell out of the piano
>and 1 leg bolt would not go in.
>	First, I told her that I had never come across a Yamaha grand that
>the leg
>receptacles came out.  I figured I already knew what the jammed key problem
>was so I made the appointment for this afternoon.
>	She had just moved from a close in suburb into the most expensive
>private
>street St. Louis has to offer, Washington Terrace. Big 3 story classical
>brick mansion, beautiful.  She led me into where the piano was.  The entire
>top 1/3 of the keys were jammed up.  She then gave me the leg bolt that
>would not tighten because the nut had fallen out.  She left me with the
>piano while she minded her several kids.  It was a Gh-1B and after removing
>the fallboard, cheek blocks, and keyslip I confirmed my suspicion that the
>keys were up on top of the front rail pins.  It seems I have only seen this
>phenomenon on pianos with up-stop rails.  I don't know what up-stop rails
>do but they certainly don't keep keys in place so they can't rotate and jam
>on top of the front rail pins.  After releasing the keys I noticed that at
>the right hand end of the keyframe the leg bolt was sticking up about an
>inch into the keybed area and effectively drilled through the right edge of
>the keyframe.  I got my wrench and down to the floor I went unscrewing the
>offending leg bolt.  After it was removed it was at least an inch longer
>than the one they told her would not tighten.  I, of course proceeded to
>screw the one she gave me into its proper place and then was able to remove
>the keyframe and action to check for any more damage and found none.  If
>that receptacle was a 1/2" more to the center of the keybed it would have
>ruined the keyframe good.  The longer bolt of course screwed right where it
>was supposed to go and tightened up in the back leg that was missing its
>bolt.
>	Now wouldn't you think that the mover would notice that there were
>clearly
>2 lengths of bolts and that when you were screwing one in place, the fact
>that it was tight with still over an inch to go along with whatever crushed
>wood sounds like when it is being crushed  would give them a clue as there
>was something wrong here.  The mover, Bekins, had the gall to charge her an
>extra $175.00 to move the piano along with the rest of her furniture
>because, "they had a special team that specialized in moving grand pianos".
>
>	I tuned it after getting things like they ought to be and charged
>her an
>extra $30 above tuning to have them pay for their damages and told her she
>was lucky, along with the movers, that they had not royally screwed up the
>keyframe.  So, it could have been worse.
>	The only thing I have ever come across worse than this was a client of
>mine had a harpsichord that they built from a kit.  They moved and the
>movers evidently picked it up, carried it outside and carried it upside
>down and all the little "plectra" fell out.  Now, normally you would think
>that if you were carrying something and a lot of little parts were falling
>out you would go back and pick them up..  Oh, of course not.  Those movers
>bought the client a new harpsichord.  Stupidity reigns.
>	Now I know you're saying how I or you would never do anything as
>outrageously stupid like these two examples.  As Dr. Roger Cliffe, a well
>known professor of woodworking says, " I used to know a guy who did
>something like that".  I think back and hope that I haven't done anything
>this outrageous in the past and I hope I remember to take the clue that if
>something that ought to go together easily isn't, it is probably because I
>am doing something wrong.  May I remember to take the hints when offered.
>
>James Grebe
>R.P.T. of the P.T.G. from St. Louis
>pianoman@inlink.com
>"Success is not a goal, rather it is a way of life".


-Christopher D. Purdy R.P.T.   School of Music  Ohio University  Athens OH

-purdy@oak.cats.ohiou.edu   (614) 593-1656    fax# (614) 593-1429