Et Al; Thank you all for your perceptive comments on this re-thingee...you too Dale F. :-) What I told the customer was just what I found.......they seemed to want me to say that most of the work, that was done, was not according to contract agreement....yet when I asked to see this "contract" they said that it was a "verbal" one. I stated that I would only be willing to inform them of the 'actual' condition of the instrument and not whether it did or did not conform to any nebulous contract. I further informed them that any disputes between the parties would 'not' include me other than my written report of what I actually saw, should they decide to use it in the future. I am working up that report now. In the meantime they have requested that I make the thingee play better than it does currently. I agreed to do so....mainly because I certainly can't make it worse. On the estimated charge invoice I have written: "improvements to be made to regulation and action parts arrangement, using only those parts currently installed on the piano. Such improvements will not be up to factory specification but 'should' allow for 'somewhat' better control of the action. Yes......... I have charged only slightly less than 'confiscatory' prices for what I have done and am in the process of doing. I hate doing "clean up" work! :-( The customer did not quibble about my prices........so that is not a factor. Actually the only real problem I see with this "regulation" is the hammer problem of overstriking...............but on a cheery note the thingee does have a very nice tone :-) Thanks to all who have participated and reinforced my thoughts....even you Dale as your thoughts did have some poetic balance to them! Jim Bryant (FL)
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