[pianotech] Levitan's lever

[Rob Mitchell]

The wood handle slipped off on mine too.  Brush the metal with some
watered-down Titebond and slide the wood handle back on.  Mine hasn't budged
since.

 

Rob

 

Mitchell Piano Service

(415) 994-1030

www.mitchellpianoservice.com <http://www.mitchellpianoservice.com/> 

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Patrick Mackey
Sent: Monday, December 14, 2009 8:08 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Levitan's lever

 

I bought the Levitan "Classic"--is what I think they're calling it--at the
South Central Regional a few months ago.  I do not have a very heavy tuning
schedule, and the one it was replacing was quite old, from a pile of things
a colleague got from a deceased member of our tribe.  All that being said, I
really love it.  As I understand, it is made of fairly ordinary materials,
like steel pipe, etc, but it was designed with an extraordinary amount of
thought and trial-and error.  Things that Bob Marinelli told me when I
bought it, if I'm remembering correctly--somebody who knows for sure, please
jump in--were: the head is permanently attached to the shaft with a lot of
inner reinforcement, making that joint a whole lot stiffer than the
removable heads; the angle of head to shaft and length of the head/tip ass'y
was experimented with on a lot of different pianos to get a good compromise
for strut and stretcher clearance (of course there's no one perfect recipe
for that); the pipe that is used for the shaft has a great compromise
between stiffness and weight, making it a relatively light lever that really
lets me feel the pin.  It has a wood handle that just slips over the end of
the shaft, and also slips off easily.  I've been meaning to call Pianotek
and see if there was a reason for that before I decide to attach it
permanently.  Maybe the best thing I can say about it is that it inspired me
to put away my SATIII and tune aurally.  Well, that lasted about two and a
half months, but I loved every minute of it.  (It just takes me too long.)
And finally, the price is pretty compelling.  Half to two-thirds of the
other horses in the race.  I was willing to buy a more expensive one, but I
took a chance and now I think I've found a life-long friend.  It's just
impressive what he was able to do with simple materials and a lot smart
engineering.  

Patrick Mackey

New Orleans

 

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