RE pitch raises

[John Ross]

Hi Dick,
That happened to me about 20yrs. ago.
In situations where a piano is away down in pitch, and I'm going to bring it
up, I always feel around the back at the alignment, of the sides and back.
Uneveness is a dead giveaway.
I carry 8" c-clamps, and a selection of carriage bolts, washers and nuts.  I
just drill out the lag bolt or screw holes to 1/2", and install the bolts,
all the way through.  I draw it together, with epoxy squeezing out of the
space.  I don't even lower the tension, then I tune either down or up to
pitch.
Another giveaway is that the dampers do not come off the strings very much.
I have saved numerous pianos over the years.
I also shared the info with other tuners, and a few have indicated to me,
that I saved them from breaking a plate.
So check out the older pianos, before a large pitch raise.

Regards,
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada.

Dick Powell wrote:

> One time I was ask to raise the pitch on an old upright that their Aunt
> gave them because one of the kids was taking lessons. It hadn't been
> tuned for years & was around two steps low. I started taking it up &
> after about the fourth time it finally started staying put. As I was
> tuning the very last of the treble section it went BANG. Scared the mess
> out of me & everyone else in the house. The whole tuning went down the
> drain & when I got to looking around I found the plate had broken (bad).
> I explained to them what had happened & picked up my tools & said adios.
> Dick---Louisiana
>
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