piano jack

[Isaac Sadigursky]

Hi,David!  Sorry for delay..I would like to answer your question about 4
types of jacks I do have in my possession.

1]In the early days I was using ordinary   Saw  Horses.They work nicely to
lift the whole Grand  piano and remove all 3 legs,when nessesary.Great tool
for shop!..Also highly recommended for stringers when driving 237 tuning
pins ,to relieve stress from legs and not to DAMAGE casters or casters
cavity in the leg.Believe me,I had seen plenty of damage done by stringers
when this pre-caution was not taken .. I would love to hear from our
community of stringers about their technique of protectiong the grand legs
when stringing..Also,Leg Plates-female part crack easily during strining
process and ,usually,noticed in the field much later,then,typical
scenario,Piano Movers are blamed for it..I feel safe leaving piano in the
customers home on all 3 Saw Horses then on anything else when all 3 legs go
for repair,etc..

2]The piano Horse from Schaff is a great tool for individual leg
repairs.Schaff normally sells them in sets of 3,but just owning one makes it
a very convenient tool.It folds FLAT and can lay in the trunk of a passenger
car or on a back seat of a car,as well,not taking any space at all.

3]Pedestal with a car jack;First I had a car jack with the pump,but,as it
was mentioned,leaking accidents can happen.so,pump jack was replaced with
Scissors type jack,I have 2 of them:one is GM to work on USA pianos and one
from a Nissan car to work on Asian pianos[just kidding]. But,in real life I
had to use 2 jacks when Leg bolts were damaged and piano action couldn't be
removed from the Yamaha piano.Propping up piano at the rim allows us to
unscrew the Key Bed and get access to the damaged machine bolt and cut it
off with a hack saw..

4]Jack-in-the-box was originated by ex-PTG'r Michael Glezin,who worked with
me in 1992-1995,very bright mechanically minded tech.He tried to sell this
useful tool to techs,then Pacific Piano took over.It's nicely made tool and
later-on Susan Graham had an article in the Journal and this tool was
mentioned..

5]Phone books or jacks on piano benches work,providing that piano bench is
SOLID and can take the stress.So,before placing books on the bench-check the
bench and repair it.In real life:if piano legs have problems,piano bench
needs help,too.. Guaranteed! Often,our clients helping us to put phone books
on the bench, position them right above our fingers.Precaution must be taken
when this technic is used....With the car jack I'm in full
control..also,this technic can be used to install caster cups,as well On
light pianos I can lift one side of a small Grand with my back and easily
install caster cup..but,I do have a modified crow bar to lift verticals or
Grand legs one at a time to install coasters all by myself.This modified
crow bar was shown in the moving class by  John Grace,RPT from Olympia,WA
many years ago.It works great!!!

    Hope,this info helps...Happy Mothers Day to our Mothers on the List and
our spouses and Mothers....Best Regards.. Isaac Sadigursky,RPT  Los Angeles

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