<!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 6.00.2900.3059" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 bgColor=#ffffff leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7> <DIV>Well yes I've seen that, but only in my first year or so of servicing pianos.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>It seems to me that it is a rite of passage for any piano technician to break several high treble hammers while removing actions from grands during their first year or so. After that, presumably one would check closely for hammer/block clearance before removing an action. I mean it either clears or it doesn't - and if it doesn't, then the capstans need to be let down so that hammers do clear.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Then of course, assess why the heck that piano is so screwed up that hammers at rest are up above the bottom of the pinblock......</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Terry Farrell</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"> </DIV><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV>There are some grands out there where you have to be very careful while pulling out the key frame from the piano. The plate/action combination is designed in such a way that the hammers near the treble break are very close to the lower part of the plate, and if the keyboard is not pulled out or pushed back in straight, a hammer adjacent to the plate could break off. Is this a poor design, or what?!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Jesse Gitnik</DIV> <DIV>Since 1980</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>