<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1543" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Tom,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For the hammer shank repair make a special tool to merasure the correct length to make the shank about 1/8" short.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Use two wires about the length of the shank that is not in the butt or hammer head.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>To measure hold the wires together with thumb and finger while you have the butt installed on the rail. Place wire in butt and use hammer head to push wire down to the length you want the shank to be minus 1/8" yada yada.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A great tool to have is the shank modified vise grips that clamp on the shank so that you can use the shank puller.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If you are lucky you will be able to pull both stub ends without using the dry wall screw and torch.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>These you must have ready just in case.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On the splice use plenty of wire and trim after you pull the knot tight.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You are not being graded on how pretty the knot is but that it hold.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>On the upright action more points are lost on the damper regulation.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>After you get the damper lift where you want it, remove the action and look at the dampers from the back to see if they are lined up like you think they are <g> The timing may be great but you may have /  \ /</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Get a good night rest and relax.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>During my test my glasses broke, could not find the target measurments on the {side } of the action model, but still finished the grand in 25 minutes and the upright in 20.</FONT></DIV> <DIV>Joe Goss RPT<BR>Mother Goose Tools<BR><A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR><A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com">www.mothergoosetools.com</A></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=tvaktvak@sbcglobal.net href="mailto:tvaktvak@sbcglobal.net">Tom Sivak</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Friday, August 25, 2006 2:49 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> technical exam</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>List</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tomorrow I take the Technical Exam.  Any advice from those of you who have gone through it?  <BR><BR>The one question that no one seems to be able to answer is: how is the test scored?  For instance, the stringing portion of the test, three tasks in 20 minutes; are they equal in scoring weight?  If I get stuck and don't have time to finish one of them, which one should I leave undone?   </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>On the tuning exam the scoring system is given to the examinees, and it was a great help in allotting time to finish various secitons.  For instance, I didn't waste much time with the top or bottom octave, knowing that it was scored so lightly, and rather focused on octaves 5 and 6, and 3 and 2.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It would be great to know how to budget my time in the Technical Exam.  (My examiner has not returned my phone call.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tom Sivak</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>