Spinet Blues

[richard.ucci@att.net]

I know the feeling Terry !
> I did a 100-cent pitch raise and tuned a 1970-ish Kohler & Campbell spinet last 
> Friday. The lady had complained that several keys did not work - a hammer-shank 
> metal sleeve repair had failed and the broken hammer was tangled in several 
> notes. "How much to fix Mr. Farrell?" So I thought, hmmmm, how much to replace 
> one hammer shank? Take out - two minutes, drill out old shank stub in butt and 
> replace shank (in shop) - 10 minutes, stop back within day or two (piano is only 
> about 3 miles from me) while on my way somewhere else and pop it back in - 10 
> minutes, total - 22 minutes. "Oh, about $20 Ms. Painofapiano."
> 
> I guess it had been a long time since I tried to remove and replace a hammer 
> butt on a spinet. I took me 45 minutes to replace the repaired butt and its 
> neighbor (that I had removed for shank length, etc.). Access was next to zero. 
> This piano had the wooden drop stickers that severely limited access. Even 
> something a simple as reattaching the bridle straps was next to impossible.
> 
> I'm thinking that the next time someone asks me to repair something "down in 
> there" on a spinet action, I'll simply quote them my hourly fee, plus a little 
> for frustration, and tell them I'll move as quickly as I reasonably can.
> 
> What a pain! I wish that I had committed to doing something simple, like 
> installing a soundboard for the $20.
> 
> Terry Farrell
>   
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