[pianotech] Center Pin Zapper

Wed Mar 3 09:26:16 MST 2010

I've built several of these over the years, and had various degrees of success and failure.  Most of the time the flange bushing loosens up, but later gets sticky again.  I built one with a doorbell transformer, but they have a built-in short circuit fuse that will blow if you use it too much.  There's no way to fix it, except to buy a new transformer.  Basically, I use it when I'm too lazy to repin a bunch of flanges, and always later regret it when I have to revisit the action for a call-back.  The only reliable way to address a sticking flange is to repin/ream it.  Believe me, I've wanted these things to work permanently, since they seem to work so well for the moment.  If you have a quality piano, it's not going to give you enough control to get 4-6 swings or whatever.  Mostly it will make it too loose.  I still have mine since I'm still lazy.
    FWIW,
    Paul McCloud
    San Diego

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Ken & Pat Gerler 
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: 03/03/2010 6:54:13 AM 
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Center Pin Zapper

Gregor,
The Zapper using the door bell transformer assembly only takes a few seconds to apply the tweezers to the ends of the flange pin. Depending on your "success", the flange pins on an upright - whippen, hammer and jack - can be accomplished in half an hour, much faster than repining.  The biggest "slow down" factor is the tweezers getting to hot to hold if you go "non-stop".  Ask how I know.

Ken Gerler
kenneth.gerler at prodigy.net

----- Original Message ----- 
From: Gregor _ 
To: pianotech at ptg.org 
Sent: Wednesday, March 03, 2010 3:26 AM
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Center Pin Zapper

I never heard of that idea of a zapper and it sounds really weired to me. How long does it take, I mean how long do you zapp one center pin? Would it not be easier, quicker and more long lasting to replace that pin?

Gregor

------------------------------------------
piano technician - tuner - dealer
Münster, Germany
www.weldert.de

> Date: Tue, 2 Mar 2010 15:09:57 -0700
> From: mark.purney at mesapiano.com
> To: pianotech at ptg.org
> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Center Pin Zapper
> 
> I've heard other claims that the results can sometimes be permanent, or 
> at least long-term. Maybe the ironing effect of the heat reconfigures 
> the bushing fibers in some cases, but not others? I'll experiment and 
> see what kind of results I get - it's not a complicated or expensive 
> device to build. Thanks for the information!
> 
> 
> On 3/2/2010 1:57 PM, Michael Magness wrote:
> > I have one I rarely use, it's results are temporary at best. The 
> > results of the device is/are heat, resulting in drying the flange 
> > bushing cloth thereby cauing it to stop sticking. The problem of 
> > course is that the humidity returns and with it the problem.
> 

Alles in einem Postfach – Ich will Hotmail! 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100303/969bd1a9/attachment.htm>