On Nov 18, 2007 9:52 PM, Bruce Dornfeld <bdornfeld at earthlink.net> wrote: > > > Martin, I think Jon Page is likely correct here. Below is a copy of an > article I wrote for our chapter newsletter about this. > > > The Weird Stuff: Falling Apart > > By Bruce Dornfeld, RPT > > > > There is a repair I have done only about once a decade, which qualifies it > as weird. The spinets are the only ones I've seen, but it might happen to > bigger vertical pianos too. The client will either complain that the piano > won't play, or that it is falling apart. The source of the problem is that > the sides have come unglued. Since the sides hold the keybed, it usually > causes the keybed to droop and it plays like the keys start about three > quarters of the way down, that's about where they are at rest now! The two > I can remember repairing are a Wurlitzer spinet from 1956 and an Acrosonic > spinet from 194! 5. The quick and easy way to confirm the diagnosis is to > lift up on one of the sides. If it moves and the rest of the piano stays > put, you know the sides are loose. You might also be able to see lines that > are not parallel where the bad glue joint was. > > > > Once you have figured out the problem, it is not so hard to fix, but there > are a few things that can go wrong and it is not easy to re-repair. First, > remove the cabinet parts as you would for tuning, plus the bottom board and > completely remove the top. Then unscrew any cabinet screws that go between > the keybed to the rest of the piano, or any others that interfere with > moving the keybed into proper position. Leave the action in place if > possible; it will help keep things in line. Long clamps are needed; pipe > clamps work very well for this. They need to be a bit longer than the piano > from side to side. Some wood is needed to protect the finish from the big > clamps. I carry a couple of scraps of ½" pine about 10" x 10" for this and > other jobs. You might want some smaller clamps too, if one of the back > posts needs clamping at the side because of some splitting or something. > You also need some small pieces of wood or shims (an inch or so) to go under > the front of the piano, on either side of the pedals. This wood will get > the sides lined up where they should be. Let me explain this a bit. > > > > If the weight of the piano is on the back wheels and the front legs, usually > that is fine. But if the sides are unglued, the back of the keybed will > sag. Putting some support under the front of the piano holds the body of > the piano straight up again. This should hold the keybed in a normal > position to the piano; test it by playing the keys that wouldn't play > before. Ideally, they should play well and have the same amount of lost > motion as before the falling apart. Lost motion should be the same in high > treble and bass. When you get this alignment, use a long! spatula, get a > good amount of Titebond glue in between the loose sides and the back, and > then clamp them up. Have a wet cloth ready for the glue squeeze-out; if > there isn't any, you did not use enough glue! This was probably part of > what caused this trouble in the first place! > > > > Leave the supports under the piano until after the clamps are removed. I > recommend leaving the clamps tight overnight at least. That is more time > than normal for a glue joint, but it is a very large one and the water > cannot evaporate from it easily. Just as soon as those clamps and supports > are removed, there will be hundreds of pounds pulling on those glue joints. > I made the mistake of moving the piano off of the supports too early once, > it did not hold well. In less than five years it needed to be reglued > again! > > > > After you get the clamps off and return the piano to its normal place in the > room, it's time to regulate the action. If everything went right back where > it was, it may or may not need normal regulation now. But if things did not > go back perfectly, you may need to get the action brackets secure where they > belong. You will need to use your judgment to decide whether to adjust the > supports under the action brackets up or down, or to bend the bracket bolts > up or down. The action should be held fast between these; if it can move, > the piano will squeak or groan when the sustain pedal is used. The support > bol! t under the action should be adjusted with an adjustable wrench, but > pliers or vice grips will do. Bending the bracket bolts that hold the > action at the top is best done with a piece of pipe. On the treble end, > listen for good tone. Adjust the strike point if needed. > > > > If you ever do this repair, your client will think you are a hero! You took > a piano that was falling apart and not playable, and you restored it to is > former, if faded, glory. It is a large repair, but it is also a simple one > that should take no more than two to four hours. When you run into a > falling apart piano, you might suggest they buy a newer better piano. There > are plenty to choose from. I would rather give the option to my client. > After all, I am not a piano salesman, but a technician. It may be weird, > but! I fix pianos for a living. > > > > Bruce Dornfeld, RPT > bdornfeld at earthlink.net > 847-498-0379 > > > > > Hi Bruce, You're right it does happen to larger pianos. The first one I ever ran across that had the side coming loose was an old Kimball upright. I wouldn't have bothered to fix it what with it being an upright and a Kimball, 2 out of 3 strikes, right<g>? However the customer begged me to explaining the difficulty the men in the church had bringing it in to the church basement in the first place. She was afraid someone would be hurt removing it and bringing in another.I ended up doing the repair alone using a lever on a 2X4 block to raise the side back into position with my foot. I then clamped it to the end back post with a couple of c-clamps. I previously dribbled glue, Franklin's bottled hide glue in this case, down the side of the case. Since the church was 50 miles from my home and I had no other pending work in the area I used screws, old plate screws salvaged from pinblock/back seperations, to screw the side to the backpost pre-drilling from inside the post about halfway into the side. I was then able to make the necessary adjustments, tune it and leave. I did run across one other instance that might be Martin's problem if the side isn't loose, the keybed screws had been stripped when run in at the factory, apparantly. The keybed was falling out little by little a friend of mine was tuning it for contest with a bunch of new, fresh out of the box pianos. He told me he kept taking up lost motion then began tuning again only to have the lost motion return. I was down the hall tuning a couple of the school's pianos for warmup rooms and he asked me to take a look at it. As I walked into the room I spotted the gap between the keybed and the arm of the piano, only because of his explanation. The cabinet was, of course particle board so instead of trying to fix the existing holes I got my drill from the truck and we made new ones! Mike -- You never learn anything by doing it right. Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com
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