[pianotech] Old Kranich and Bach Grand

[Ed Sutton]

Judging from the look of the cushion in the wippen window, I would suggest 
you first look at the regulation.

If the jack tip is jammed into the wippen cushion when the key is at the 
bottom of its travel, the pressure will eventually break off the jack toes. 
Proper regulation may be the first step.

Then you will need to repair or replace the broken jacks. With luck someone 
will send you some, or you will find a jack from a different wippen that 
fits.

It would also be possible to unpin the jacks and re-enforce the joint with a 
drop of Gorilla brand CA glue, which has higher sheer strength than other CA 
glues.

Somebody out there has a bunch of these K & B wips.

Ed S.


----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Clark A. Sprague" <csprague4 at woh.rr.com>
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 25, 2009 8:34 PM
Subject: [pianotech] Old Kranich and Bach Grand



Hi, all!  It sure was nice to see a lot of you at Grand Rapids, and to put
faces with names.  What a great resource this list is.
    That said, I went to an old Kranich and Bach grand today, that had the
board shimmed, new pinblock, new hammers with shanks and flanges.  But,
alas, not new whippens.  The old things are letting go glue joints, notably
the jack tenders.  Whoever did the job meticulously replaced all those
notorious little spring cords, but now glue joints are failing.
    Having talked about new whippens with the customer,  nothing in the
Renner kit works, or the Pianotek catalog, or the new WNG kit so graciously
given out in GR.  It seems that the K&B whip is shorter in the distance from
the flange center to the jack center.
    Anybody ever modify whips to accomplish the task?  Or what?   Besides
the obvious answer of a match and some flammable liquid!  Customer seems to
want to spend the money.

Clark A. Sprague, RPT
csprague4 at woh.rr.com