Stubborn fallboard

[Mickey Kessler]

Hi Friends,

Yesterday I was set to work on the action of a Wheelock baby grand.  As 
someone returning to piano service after many years, I was excited -- it's 
in dire need of adjustment, and I am in dire need of learning, and so it 
seemed a perfect match.

The problem was, I couldn't get the damn fallboard out!  I felt like a moron.

I removed the key slip and the screws from and the cheek blocks, expecting 
to just lift up on the fallboard and remove the board/block assembly, or in 
some way have the thing come apart.  But the fallboard is pinned on both 
sides, directly into the rim.  Pins originate in the side edges of the 
fallboard, extend into felt-bushed holes on the inside of the rim to act as 
hinges, and the fallboard hits a leaf spring in the back of the bass block 
to keep it upright.

I looked at the thing from about twenty minutes, opened it, closed it, 
looked from the top, bottom, sides, pulled, pushed, tugged -- I couldn't 
get the !!*%$(#*!!!! thing out.  So no chance to practise my skills on the 
action.  Frustrating!   A learning experience, but not exactly the one  I 
had envisioned.

Any advice about removing the fallboard without resorting to a chainsaw or 
plastique (tempting approaches yesterday) would be much appreciated.

Mickey Kessler