Rob, At Wisconsin it was a _ l o n g _ argument. Everyone wanted to remove the pins as you are describing. This stopped when someone lifted the lid after a removal and the hinge pins had not been replaced. Nobody broke a leg - foot etc, but the lid hit the floor with a convincing thud. Now I break off the end of the pin so it is a straight pin in the hinge. Nothing they can grab for removal. I punch the pin out with a hammer and center punch. This also means that I know about lid removals. And it also means that we charge extra for removal. I pick my help. Recruit 3 people who can store the lid in a safe place with plenty of covers. Yes, it becomes a 'me too' phenomenon. Joel >Howdy... > >Here at the university we have two primary concert pianos- a new >Steinway D, and a Baldwin SD-10, about ten years old. > >For some reason there has become an increasing popularity here regarding >removing the lids of the grands entirely for performances. It started >with a few performances with two grands nested together, (not uncommon >for the front piano in such situations). But then a few performers >wanted to try removing it for solo performances. Even the orchestra >decided to give it a go recently. It would appear that once people found >out that the lid was removable everyone now wants to try it. I fear the >trend may have become permenant in spite of my protests. > >I am concerned about repeated lid removal, as this has caused stress on >the hinges, lost hinge/bent pins, scratches on the lid, etc. If this is >going to become a popular practice, what solutions might there be to >make removal faster with less structural stress? Has anyone delt with >this problem before? > >I thought about drilling out the hinge holes a bit oversized and >inserting a costom pin- perhaps a pin with a hole drilled through the >end with a removable cottor pin. Maybe even a small cable attached so >that the pins don't become lost. Any thoughts? > >Rob Goodale, RPT >Northern Arizona University Keep In Tune Joel A. Jones jajones2@facstaff.wisc.edu UW-Madison http://uwpianos.music.wisc.edu/ 1501 Humanities 455 N. Park Street Madison, WI 53706
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