Hi Dick, I feel very much more satisfaction tuning and working for the common man with average pianos and the occasional fine one than vice-versa. There is so much more you can do with an ailing piano just waiting for your care. In the beginning, we all work on the less than desirable instruments and many would rather do that than work on fine grands with particular players/owners. It is one of my attributes that I finally have found the skill level that I have and revel in it. I can do wonders for an average piano and do average work on a fine piano. That doesn't make me or anyone else better than another. It is like some people love to make players, players again. Many of us wonder, why spend all that time and trouble. The reason is because it inside them to bring back something that may be obsolete now but requires all their intelligence and skill to make it work like it once did. Working on old uprights is fun in itself as these, many at least, were the fine pianos that ordinary people back then could afford. I would love to see how many of these were when they were new. I was one of the very last people who came through the apprentice system here. Before I started, it was considered laziness if you sat down to work and stools were not allowed in the rebuilding shop. I used to get the jobs no one wanted to do like refelting sets of wippons, and removing the pins from a grand by driving with a punch from underneath. Talk about sore arms. Of course one of my jobs also was to run and get coffee and donuts for everyone when they wanted. All this for $1.25 and hour in 1962. That was $41.61 a week after taxes. Was I happy to get this pay and do what I was doing. You betcha. I learned as I watched and listened in wonderment. Do I do the same jobs the same way I was taught, not always. As you go on, you develop your own style and way of doing things and that is the joy of being your own one person business, you get all the blame and all the credit. There were 3 technicians working in the shop I learned in and today it is hard to find more than one way of doing a job because we simply don't have access to that many techs except for this place. Listen to everyone's opinion and beliefs and then form your own. Success is waiting for you. James Grebe R.P.T. of the P.T.G. St. Louis, MO. Competent Service since 1962 Do what is right and do no harm Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano Peripherals pianoman@inlink.com ---------- > From: Dick Powell <dbpowell1@juno.com> > To: pianotech@ptg.org > Subject: Re: Bridle Straps spring clip reply > Date: Monday, September 14, 1998 7:29 PM > > James, The piano I installed the clip on bridle straps is very worn out & > the owners don't want to spend very much money on it , just enough to get > it to play. Hey if we all worked on just the high priced spread what > would all the poor people do that love to play the piano? > Thanks James, > Dick--Louisiana > > > > > On Mon, 14 Sep 1998 18:49:52 -0500 "pianoman" <pianoman@inlink.com> > writes: > >Hi, > >Here I go again, > > Why should anyone be ashamed to have put spring clip bridle > >tapes on an > >action if it is done neatly and solidly and it works. Why take other > >things apart just to put on another part. > > Should we be ashamed to install the Vagias snap on elbows > >instead of > >replacing the old plastic with wooden elbows, wires, and buttons. I > >used > >to do the latter but found it dumb to spend the extra money and time > >to put > >on all that stuff. > > We are playing with the clients money with our time and > >probably the new > >SCBS will last as long as the action it is being installed upon. I > >see, > >and have seen, no evidence to the contrary that SCBS's wear out any > >faster > >than ones drilled into the butt. I do go a step further, as I leave > >my > >Spring clips with the U pointed up which gives me a place to put a > >drop of > >glue to make sure the clip does not move around. > >James Grebe > >R.P.T. of the P.T.G. > > St. Louis, MO. > >Competent Service since 1962 > > Do what is right and do no harm > > Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano > >Peripherals > > > >pianoman@inlink.com > > > >---------- > >> From: Steve Pearson <SPearson@yamaha.com> > >> To: pianotech@ptg.org > >> Subject: Re: Bridle Straps spring clip > >> Date: Monday, September 14, 1998 5:51 PM > >> > >> Back when I was an independent tech, I tried all of the various > >methods, > >and in the final analysis, came back to doing it by the book. Using a > >Hale > >hammer head extractor, I removed the backstop heads, & cleaned up the > >dowel > >with a hammer shank knurling tool...the cheap > >end-of-the-combination-handle > >type. Having established the correct length for the bridle tape, I > >then > >glued in the new tape, sans cork, clip or tack, and reglued the > >catcher > >onto the dowel. I never found any pre-made ones the right length > >anyway. I > >honestly don't think it took any longer, and I was never ashamed of > >the > >results. > >> Steve > >> > >> >>> "pianoman" <pianoman@inlink.com> 09/14/98 02:45PM >>> > >> Hi All, > >> At the risk of being disagreed with I beg to differ that the use of > >spring > >> clip bridle straps reduces the technician to names muttered under > >the > >> breath of someone else looking at the work. I see no reason > >not to use > >> SCBS's if the catcher has no hole. If you argue that it adds mass > >to the > >> action the answer is yes. If you say it is an expedient repair > >rather > >than > >> pulling the backstops yes. If you say that it doesn't work for long > >> periods of time and use and reduces the technician to a hack I say > >no. > >> Neither does the use of cork tip bridle straps. > >> When I first was learning all this stuff, the common method > >was to drill > >a > >> small hole in the butt directly under the catcher dowel. We had > >made a > >> little tool that the bridle strap fastened onto and we could > >premeasure > >the > >> amount that was inserted and glued in the hole. When the glue was > >dry > >the > >> waste ends could be clipped off. It took twice as long as using > >cork or > >> spring clip tapes and in the process of trying to drill that small > >hole > >> sometimes screwed up the catcher and or butt. Did that ensure that > >the > >job > >> would last longer, no. > >> So I am on the side that using SCBS or CTBS is just as > >professional as > >> going through all the trouble of removing every catcher and doing it > >the > >> long way. > >> I wonder who decided that SPBS's was unprofessional and > >wrong and where > >> was I when that was done. > >> James Grebe > >> R.P.T. of the P.T.G. > >> St. Louis, MO. > >> Competent Service since 1962 > >> Do what is right and do no harm > >> Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano > >Peripherals > >> > >> pianoman@inlink.com > > > > _____________________________________________________________________ > You don't need to buy Internet access to use free Internet e-mail. > Get completely free e-mail from Juno at http://www.juno.com > Or call Juno at (800) 654-JUNO [654-5866]
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