lessons learned

[Mike Kurta]

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    Hi Guys:
    A good way to describe the plastic parts to the owner is to make a =
comparison to dry pretzels.  They both break very easily.......
    Mike Kurta
  ----- Original Message -----=20
  From: Clyde Hollinger=20
  To: Pianotech=20
  Sent: Saturday, July 12, 2003 9:35 AM
  Subject: Re: lessons learned


  Tom,=20
  Both are good lessons to remember.  We all know that experience is a =
good teacher, although most of us hope to avoid learning that way, at =
least in the sense you did.=20

  Terry's response was good, as usual, so I won't repeat what he said.  =
The last time I worked on one of these buggers I talked with the owner =
how repairs sometimes call for stressing the other parts a little, such =
as pushing an upright jack a little to the side to get to the hammer =
flange screw.  That normally works okay, but when working with brittle =
plastic you can work your way into lots of unwanted additional work =
right down the line.=20

  And that's exactly what happened when I had to replace one of her =
damper flanges.  I barely had to breathe on its neighbor and there she =
goes.  Since I had discussed the situation beforehand and gotten =
approval from the owner, she paid for the work I did, but I left with =
one damper flange still broken.  I pointed it out to her, but since the =
damper still worked okay I couldn't see putting more money into the =
piano, and she agreed.  A note on the service card now reads, "Don't =
touch this piano again."  I hope I have enough fortitude when she calls =
again to stick to that.=20

  Regards, Clyde=20

  Tvak@aol.com wrote:=20

    To all=20
    Today I taught myself a couple of lessons.  First of all, I will =
never break the following rule ever again:=20

    Don't ever...ever....even TOUCH a plastic flange unless it is glued =
to the doorknob of the exit door and even only then if there's no other =
way out.=20

    I replaced a set of elbows today.  I knew that it had plastic wippen =
flanges.  Why was I so careless snapping that first elbow in place?  The =
price?  Removal of the spinet action to replace the cracked plastic =
wippen flange.=20

    The other 87 elbows snap in place with no further problem due to =
extreme care on my part.  Adjust the lost motion and...play the piano.  =
Hmmm...the hammer on middle C is double striking.  I'll just move the =
backcheck forward and... (What was I thinking...?)=20

    Out comes the spinet action to replace the newly broken plastic =
wippen flange.  While replacing the wippen flange I brush against a =
damper lever and...now I can replace the plastic damper flange on that =
damper lever and... the one next to it which I also bumped into with the =
screwdriver.=20

    Back goes the action and as I play the piano I realize that the =
damper lever on D5 is not damping due to it's also being cracked.  (I =
did look at them all while they were out of the piano, but it was not =
visually apparent.)  Now, I was nowhere near D5 so I wonder if this was =
a pre-existing problem, which leads me to the next lesson I learned:=20

    Check the piano first to see if there are any problems.=20

    BTW, my original service call on this piano was 6 months ago at =
which time I replaced 4 elbows and informed the client of the existence =
of all the plastic flanges, and the costs involved in replacing them.  I =
advised him NOT to put any money into this Lester spinet, other than =
replacing those 4 elbows that had already broken.  Six months later he =
called to tell me to go ahead with the elbows.   In the back of my mind =
I was thinking, wasn't this the piano with all the plastic flanges?  But =
rather than say anything, I just went ahead and made the appointment.  =
Which leads me to the last lesson for the day:=20

    Take better notes on each piano for future reference.=20

    I rarely share my experiences with others on the list.   Hope this =
was worth reading...=20

    Tom Sivak


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