In these days of tight money, do you really think someone is going to pay $500, on a piano that only cost them a few hundred Most of these pianos were "heirlooms". We've discussed that on this list in the past, but even if it's not an heirloom, inmost cases, the money spent on replacing the elbows is still cheaper than buying another piano. But here's another view on this. The actual replacing of the elbows in only part of the $500 spent. As I mentioned, the $500 includes regulating,cleaning, tightening screws,shaping hammers. In other words, if we're going to encourage the customer to replacing the elbows, while we're at it, why not improve the piano at the same time. And, the $500 doesn't even include the tuning, which is some cases might even be a pitch raise. So the total bill might be in the $700 range. If it is presented right, and the customer agrees to spend the money, I think it's worth it. Wim -----Original Message----- From: John Ross <jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca> To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Tue, Dec 8, 2009 2:37 am Subject: Re: [pianotech] Replacing plastic elbows In these days of tight money, do you really think someone is going to pay $500, on a piano that only cost them a few hundred, If they were going to sell it, how much would they realistically get? I live in an area where a few hundred is what most people pay for their pianos, they just want or are able to pay just enough to keep their piano operational. I wonder just how many tuners are able to command the high dollars for complete service. Nothing to do with their abilities, other than being able to 'sell' it to their customer, but to do with the money available to their customer. Not everyone makes high salaries. In a lot of cases both parents work to make ends meet. John Ross Windsor, Nova Scotia. ----- Original Message ----- From: wimblees at aol.com To: pianotech at ptg.org Sent: Tuesday, December 08, 2009 5:21 AM Subject: Re: [pianotech] Replacing plastic elbows Greg You're probably not going to like what I'm about to suggest, because it's a little more work, and goes everything else you've read. Vagias snap on elbows are good for replacing a couple of elbows in the piano. But if you're going to do a whole set, and you've got the action out of the piano anyway, why not replace them with wood elbows. My arguments is, plastic was used once, so why replace it with plastic. (I know, the new plastic won't disintegrate like the new Vagias ones. But that's my story, and I'm sticking to it.) Lay the action on the bench, dampers down, and remove the center pins from the wippens. It's not that difficult to do, once you get the hang of it. The old elbows, or what's left of them, will fall right off. Before putting on the new elbows, tighten all the screws, shape the hammers and blow out the dust and dirt. An easy way to put the new elbows on the sticker is to chuck the sticker into a variable speed drill at the regulating button end. (Sometimes you've got to screw down the regulating button a little to get enough into the chuck). Put the elbow in a vice, and drill the sticker onto the new elbow. Try to get the sticker about the same distance into each sticker, but don't try to figure out which sticker goes to which wippen, because you're going to have to regulate all of them anyway. Putting the stickers and new elbows on the wippens is also a little tricky, but again, once you've done a couple and get the hang of it, it's actually very easy. If you're careful, and don't break any wippens, it only takes about 2 hours to do the whole job. Before replacing the action, you probably had to take the keys out. So vacuum under the keys, and down in the bottom of the piano, to get rid of all the plastic remnants of the elbows I haven't done a set for at least 10 years, but over the years, I've made a lot of money from Betsy and her cousins. The total job, including replacing the elbow, vacuuming, regulating, tightening the screws, etc. is worth at least $500, plus tuning. As much as some people seem to belittle Betsy and her cousins, some of those pianos weren't all that bad. If the case is still in good shape, it would be well worth the money to spend on replacing the elbows, as opposed to buying a new piano, or a decent used one. Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT Piano Tuner/Technician 94-505 Kealakaa Str. Mililani, Oahu, HI 96789 808-349-2943 www.Bleespiano.com Author of: The Business of Piano Tuning available from Potter Press www.pianotuning.com 94-505 Kealakaa Str. Mililani, Oahu, HI 96789 808-349-2943 www.Bleespiano.com Author of: The Business of Piano Tuning available from Potter Press www.pianotuning.com -----Original Message----- From: Greg Livingston <pianotuner440 at hotmail.com> To: Pianotech list <pianotech at ptg.org> Sent: Mon, Dec 7, 2009 4:53 pm Subject: [pianotech] Replacing plastic elbows Dear Friends, I have a Lester spinet action belonging to a long-time customer on my bench (that is, my dining room table) that needs new elbows. I thought replacing the original plastic elbows would be easy, but only the broken ones are brittle; the unbroken ones are hard as concrete. How do you replace these? Unpin them to put the new ones on? I don't want to risk breaking the wippen by trying to bend the old plastic ones. I'd be grateful for your advice, and my wife will be thrilled to get the dining room table back. Thanks, Greg Livingston PS- I have not figured out how to search the archives, though I've tried; I need help in that area, too. ___________________________________________________ Gregory P. Livingston, Piano Tuning and Service 781-237-9178 Piano Technicians Guild, associate member (Boston chapter) * * * Always remember September 11, 2001 * * * Chat with Messenger straight from your Hotmail inbox. Check it out = -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20091208/d84dc62f/attachment-0001.htm>
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