Haines grand rep springs (again)

[J Patrick Draine]

>Can real wippens be retro-fitted to the action?  I don't see any
>historical value in restoration.
>
>Regards,
>
>Jon Page
Well, it may be possible (I don't have the action with me), but it seemed
to me that the labor involved in removing all the wippens, fabricating new
springs, pulling the old ones out & putting the new ones in, would be the
most cost effective way to go.
Only two of the wippen springs are already dead, and I quoted a hefty
estimate to "just get it paying again" figuring I'd make a little wire
bending jig for this odd spring, and lay in a stock of appropriate spring
wire. Then when they finally start playing the piano more will fail and
they'll be ready for replacement of the whole set (for which I gave them a
moderate but realistic estimate).

This piano is one of those "It came with the house"-type scenarios. About
4' 10", half tone flat, hadn't been tuned for decades but a fairly solid
pinblock, and the action suffering only from fragile, eccentricly designed
repitition springs.

I can't believe that there's only two people on the list trying to keep a
Haines grand chuggin' along. You must all lead most exemplary lifes to not
have accumulated enough karma to have run into these beasts.
Piano manufacturing historians: did the Haines Brothers spend alot of time
brainstorming with Kranich & Bach on "piano improvements"?

Enjoy the hoidays,

Patrick Draine