elbow job

[Dave Davis]

Usually 3-4 hours. The last set I did, about half the old elbows crunched off into powder, the other half were some kind of mondo bionic stuff, and I had to use a heat gun to soften the plastic to get them off.  Bleah...

Tip: I put vise-grips (gosh, I hope that's spelled write) on the lifter wire, snug tothe top of the old elbow, before removing it from the threads, then spinning the new elbow right up to the vice-grips and it makes for minimal lost motion regulating afterward.

Dave Davis, RPT

----- Original Message ----
From: Farrell <mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com>
To: Pianotech List <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, January 5, 2007 8:05:53 PM
Subject: Re: elbow job


I use a pair of needle-nose plyers to break the plastic off. 4 hours, including regulating lost motion - that's about right for me - 3 to 4 hours.
 
But it sounds like you may have done this job in the client's home. Why would you do that?
 
Why don't you do it in the road....... (no one will be watchin'...)
 
;-)
 
We be jammin',
 
Terry Farrell
----- Original Message ----- 
I did an elbow job today on an old Sohmer 32 spinet.  I was surprised at the quality of the piano, and it seems to me that Sohmer wasn't necessarily trying to cut the overhead with the plastic they used, because the rest of the instrument is quite well made.  Unfortunately, the damper flanges have are made of the same ivory colored plastic.  Fortunately, they don't get the same impact as elbows.
 
The customers had the Beatles White Album on at my request as I worked, which helped quite a bit.  Took about 4 hours.  Straight forceps are really the thing to dig out broken plastic and bushings from the wippens, IMHO.  I thought I was moving along pretty well, but 4 hours seemed a bit long.  Then I thought, "88 elbows to break off, wips to clean out, threads to clean out and lube, new elbows to clip in place, and buttons to regulate."  This was the 3rd or 4th elbow job I've ever done.  
 
I'm just curious how long this job takes some of you who have done it more frequently.
 
Dave Stahl
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