Broken action screw

[John Ross]

Hi Wally,
I would give a second thought to putting Protek grease on the screw to make it
easier to go in.
Young-Chang had a problem with jumpy pins on some pianos. They attributed the
problem to, the lubricant they used on the screws, migrating into the pinblock.
This causes some tuning pins to be jumpy.
Just a thought.
John M. Ross
Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada

Wallace Scherer wrote:

> Marnie,
>
> I had a question about that very thing about six months ago, and received a
> lot of input from this list. So far, I haven't corrected the problem, but
> plan to next time I service the customer, which she is in agreement with.
>
> The problem seems to be threefold:
>
> 1. The screw which is on the right side of the action in these Wurlitzers
> is SHORTER than the other three, therefore the hole is not as deep either.
> So, if not VERY careful, the technician will not notice this and try to put
> the long screw into the short hole, which will probably break it off.
>
> 2. The original screws were of material that was too soft to withstand the
> extra pressure used to try to force it into the short hole.
>
> 3. The alignment of the hole with the action bracket was not accurate,
> therefore, in addition to the shortness of the hole, there is also a
> sideways pressure, adding to the tightness.
>
> The advice I followed, and which I will try when I go back to service this
> piano is:
>
> 1. Purchase a new, shorter, stronger replacement from Schaff.
>
> 2. Purchase a specially made Wurlitzer action screw extractor from Schaff.
>
> 3. Using the special tool, remove the old screw and insert the new one.
>
> I'm still not sure what to do about the bad alignment problem; if I try to
> bend the metal action bracket, I can almost bet it would break. I think
> I'll try putting in the new screw with a bit of Protek grease to see if it
> feels too tight or not. If not, I'll leave the bad alignment problem alone.
>
> Wally Scherer, Piano Technician, Norfolk, Virginia, USA
> Associate member of the PTG, Hampton Roads, Va. chapter
> mailto:WallyTS@iName.com
> Web page: http://www.geocities.com/Vienna/2411
> "Old piano tuners don't die - they just go beatless!"
>
>