Had one the other day, it must have been a pair of vise grips that were used. Completely rounded, none of my tips would work. Finally got it using a T handle with a square tip, that I got from an old tuner, back in '75, it had enough to grab below the damage. I charged accordingly, they had just purchased the piano, so they pleaded ignorance on how the pin got damaged, They got the piano for $75. It also needed a C/A treatment, which worked really well, and was the reason, I couldn't turn the pin out with vise grips. Oh yes, I put in a new pin. Before someone says I shouldn't have got it operational, just remember a child is now playing music, who might not have got the chance otherwise, and it is at pitch. I will go back and tune it again in a couple of months, as I told them it wouldn't stabilize this time. Originally we were talking about someone, who would get a machine and start tuning. If they got a machine, I imagine they would also get a tuning hammer, so I wouldn't expect a damaged pin. John Ross, Windsor, Nova Scotia. On 15-Mar-10, at 6:26 PM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote: > > I have nothing against anyone, who starts out tuning his own piano, > no matter how. It doesn't take them long to find out there is more > to it than they thought. > In some cases it will be more business for you, broken strings, > mistakes etc. > Oh, yes. And let's not forget tuning pins that have had their > corners rounded by the ratchet-drive socket (which ALMOST fit the > pin!) used by the curious party who decided to "tune" it > themselves. I mean, "What could go wrong?" > > Alan Eder > > -----Original Message----- > From: John Ross <jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca> > To: pianotech at ptg.org > Sent: Mon, Mar 15, 2010 11:35 am > Subject: Re: [pianotech] TuneLab as an IPhone App > > When I started out, I took the correspondence course, that was from > what I have learned, the worst one there was. > Initially, I was only intending to do my own piano. > My Daughter's music teacher talked me into doing his, then some > students, then a music store. > It was part time at first, but blossomed into a full time career. I > have been to approaching 20 conventions, and learned a lot from PTG. > When I dropped the university, I had tuned for 19 years. I took a > year off from that, and was encouraged to apply again, so this is my > 20th year, and I am looking forward to next year. > I think you will find that there are quite a few, who started out > not thinking it would turn into a career. > Oh yes, after I had done quite a few by ear, I was not satisfied > with the end result, so I bought a SOT. > It allowed me to give a tuning that the customers liked, and I from > the beginning, have never called anyone, to say it is time to have > your piano tuned. > They call me. > Tooners, will drop by the wayside, but the serious ones will become > tuners. > I have nothing against anyone, who starts out tuning his own piano, > no matter how. It doesn't take them long to find out there is more > to it than they thought. > In some cases it will be more business for you, broken strings, > mistakes etc. > Just as a matter of interest, how did you first become involved in > piano tuning? Was it a school like North Bennett street in Boston, > or a good correspondence course etc. > John Ross > Windsor, Nova Scotia. > On 15-Mar-10, at 2:40 PM, Michael Magness wrote: > >> I had an interesting conversation with a customer the other day. >> I was tuning his old upright for his 10 year old daughter who plays >> rather well for her age and takes lessons. >> When I stopped for a short break to discuss the condition of the >> piano he showed me the TuneLab app available on his IPhone for >> $300. He said he remembered seeing it when he was looking for >> something else and wondered if it was anything like my CyberTuner. >> I told him I thought it was rather similar but I wasn't that >> familiar with it. >> He said he just thought it was interesting, that he wouldn't want >> to purchase it plus the other items necessary and try to use it, >> since he could see there was a skill level involved. >> >> My thought after I left was how many yoyo's out there won't be that >> thoughtful and become tooners via this avenue? >> >> Mike >> >> >> -- >> >> It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a >> thought without accepting it. >> >> Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) >> >> Michael Magness >> Magness Piano Service >> 608-786-4404 >> www.IFixPianos.com >> email mike at ifixpianos.com > > = -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100315/1af29d65/attachment.htm>
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