S and S K52

[Farrell]

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"Epotec 301 epoxy to all the pins.....  After overnight cure, The =
surface seemed a bit tacky..."

I have not used Epotec yet, but have used West System extensively. I =
would be concerned about any epoxy mixture that did not cure overnight =
(so that it is not tacky). This may indicate an improperly mixed batch =
of epoxy (don't ask how I know, but one can mix improper resin/hardener =
ratios, and/or not mix the batch thoroughly enough, leaving some resin =
hardener-starved). Do you have a left-over glob on a mixing board? I =
always am sure to save a little glob (at least) on my spreader/mixer or =
something to see that I did not make any mistakes with mixing the =
hardener & resin, i.e., I make sure my glob got hard overnight so that I =
know my repair has a good batch of epoxy in it. Once or twice over the =
years I have made boo-boos, but at least I became aware of it before the =
work went out the door (time to clean and re-do!).

P.S. HA! I'll have to try this Epotec stuff. My spell checker thinks it =
is "Erotic"!

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Meyer Carl=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Wednesday, January 17, 2001 2:02 AM
  Subject: S and S K52


  List:
  =20
  I'm presently working on a 1909 S&S K52.  It was professionally =
refinished.  I've so far replaced the keytops, rescaled with PSCALE, and =
restrung using wound strings on the first 5 notes above the bass break.  =

  =20
  Prior to stringing I lowered the plate w/o removing it by using a =
saber saw to take the thickness or height of the dowels down by one saw =
kerf. As the screws rose toward the treble side I used progressively =
thinner blades (some by hand for accessability).  Along the bottom I =
used more than one kerf as required to get the downbearing I wanted.  I =
found I had to remove most of the screws completely and lube with bees =
wax in order to pull them down.  Rust and corrosion made them just too =
tight to move.  This worked rather well.  I cleaned the bridge by =
clamping a brass brush to the blade of an electric carving knife. The =
brass brush was about the size of a toothbrush.  Then by sections I =
warmed the bridge with a hair drier and applied Epotec 301 epoxy to all =
the pins. I then rewarmed with the hair drier to help penetration of the =
epoxy.  Since that is slow setting stuff, I waited awhile and then =
removed the excess by brushing the whole bridge with a dry paint brush, =
wiping the brush often.  I ended up with a nice looking bridge with a =
coating of epoxy on it.  Might not look good enough for a grand, but =
looks okay.  After overnight cure, The surface seemed a bit tacky, so I =
sprinkled talc on  it and brushed it in and then blew off the excess =
with my air hose.  That worked pretty good considering it didn't take =
long at all except for the cure time.
  =20
  So now, I'm starting to regulate and replace the dampers.  Hammers are =
decent but not original.
  I now have several questions, since I'm not one who (only works on =
Steinways), actually seldom do.
  =20
  In the piano action handbook it calls for .4 inches dip.  I see specs  =
that vary for dip and I've thought that since the dip is the first =
interface between the performer and the instrument it would seem that =
uniform dip from piano to piano would be desirable. In most cases =
regulation can compensate for different dips, so a uniform dip could be =
used.  I'm not a player so perhaps I don't have a feel for this. Anybody =
have any strong opinions on this?  How sacred is following the =
manufacturing specs regarding dip?
  =20
  I found that repetition was poor in the high treble.  I found action =
centers were a bit tight especially the jack.  After water and alky, =
protec and the zapper, it repeats better, but key 88 has a chunk of lead =
in it and the dowel capstan pushes up about14 grams.  Now the weight of =
the whippen is not much more than that, so if there is some lost motion =
then the whippen may not even push the key down beyond the lost motion =
and that will produce a key leveling problem.
  Question:  What is the criteria for jack tightness?
  A gram gauge at the end of the jack should read no more that what?
  Question:  Should I remove lead to get better repetion and have better =
up weight and down weight?  Or am I missing something?
  =20
  Last question:  The dampers of S&S uprights as well as Mason and =
Hamlin are very different than most uprights.  The felt between the =
block and the popsicle stick is much thicker than standard supply house =
dampers. They have the popsicle sticks in the center section as well.  =
What do you do to replace those?  Steinway has a set of dampers in their =
price list for 121 dollars, and I don't even know what they consist of.  =
Anybody use them, or do you just adapt standard dampers?
  =20
  Comments anybody?  Thanks in advance!!!
  =20
  Carl Meyer
  =20
   =20
  =20
  =20

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