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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Treat only one piano at a time. As money allows.
Start with the easiest.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Wood swolen by humidity most likely will remain a
problem until eased.</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>
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=rsanbornmorgan@yahoo.com
href="mailto:rsanbornmorgan@yahoo.com">Richard Morgan</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Saturday, June 30, 2007 12:26
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Humidity and keys?</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; FONT-FAMILY: garamond, new york, times, serif">
<DIV>
<DIV>I was called out yesterday to tune two pianos in the same house--both
Wurlitzers, a spinet and a grand. They warned me that a few keys were
sticking on each. However, they didn't tell me how bad they were
sticking! They are currently unplayable, and untunable until the
problems are fixed. </DIV>
<UL>
<LI>They bought the spinet very recently "from a very good home," and it was
working fine then. It is very clean.
<LI>They've had the grand for 4 years, rescued from a chicken coop, before
which it was a well-maintained church piano. They claim an
accomplished pianist liked it better than his own rebuilt grand. The
dampers looked very fresh, almost new, as if they had been recently replaced
(not long before being rescued). When I pulled the action, the hammers
looked like they'd been in a chicken coop--old, hard, yellowed, and
chewed-on. </LI></UL>
<DIV>The actions on both seem to be working well, with minor, occasional
sluggishness (could probably use some center pin lube). I narrowed the
problem on both pianos to the keys--many are binding against neighbors,
and/or on the front rail bushings as well. On the grand, the balance
rail bushings are pretty worn and discolored, and several of the pins visible
above the buttons are corroded; the front rail bushings I examined looked
good. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Now, for the environment: the house is a magnificent 3-story, 100
years old, <STRONG><EM>with no central heat/air!!</EM></STRONG> It is in
east central Texas, where, as you have heard on the news, we have received
virtually our annual allotment of rain in this past week, and the whole
spring/summer so far has been unseasonable wet. Imagine the humidity!
</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm sure the humidity has caused most of the problems, especially on the
spinet. How much will the key-sticking and sluggish action
problems disappear as the humidity level drops? Should I wait to do
any work, to see how they stabilize? If I were to do some key-easing on
the spinet, and the humidity then drops significantly, would I then have
'pulley,' too loose keys? </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>On the grand, from examination, I worry a bit about warped keys, but
won't know that for sure until I take the action stack off and am able to
handle each key.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>It seems I have two courses of action:</DIV>
<OL>
<LI>Do nothing at the moment, let humidity levels go down, and see how the
pianos are affected; also, strongly encourage heater bars installed on each,
preferably immediately, to stabilize the humidity in the piano itself.
<LI>For immediate action, at the very least, on the spinet apply
silicone/teflon powder to the key bushings, and (very minimally) ease the
key bushings; on the grand rebush the balance rail pins, polish the balance
rail pins and front rail pins, apply silicone/teflon powder to the
bushings. The grand also calls for adjusting some of the back checks,
that are 'grabbing' the hammer tails. Also, strongly encourage heater
bars for long-term stability. </LI></OL>
<DIV>Oh, great list, I solicit your thoughts on this situation. BTW, the
lady several times made the point of saying that they were on social security,
and couldn't afford to pay much (that's not going to cause me to underbid or
lower my price--they did buy these two pianos, after all!). After about
the third time mentioning SS, I gently pointed out that I am helping to pay
her social security!! Too, from my limited exposure to sales, I remember
that most people are able to afford what they want to afford. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Thanks for your insights and suggestions.</DIV><SPAN class=sg>
<DIV>Richard Morgan</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></SPAN></DIV></DIV><BR>
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