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<div><span class="gmail_quote">On 9/11/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">John Ross</b> <<a href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</a>> wrote:</span>
<blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid">Some Heintzmans, which was a quality Canadian piano, used plastic parts on<br>some uprights.<br>The plastic shattered, on one that I worked on. I changed the flanges, jacks
<br>and backchecks, to get it working. Might even have been some other part as<br>well.<br>I didn't consider it 'fun', but then again, I don't think Joe, meant that,<br>in a fun sense.<br>John M. Ross<br>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada
<br><a href="mailto:jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca">jrpiano@win.eastlink.ca</a><br>----- Original Message -----<br>From: "Joe And Penny Goss" <<a href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</a>><br>To: "Pianotech List" <
<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a>><br>Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 3:07 PM<br>Subject: Re: 1963 Mason & Hamlin console question<br><br><br>> Plastic catchers, damper lever and flange, hammer flange, and jack flange
<br>> if<br>> I remember correctly.<br>> Expect lots of fun replacing all.<br>> 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><br>> ----- Original Message -----<br>> From: "pianolover 88" <<a href="mailto:pianolover88@hotmail.com">pianolover88@hotmail.com</a>><br>> To: <<a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">
pianotech@ptg.org</a>><br>> Sent: Tuesday, September 11, 2007 11:29 AM<br>> Subject: 1963 Mason & Hamlin console question<br>><br>><br>>> Hello all,<br>>><br>>> although I have not seen this piano in person yet, I'm told by a fellow
<br>> tech<br>>> that M&H uprights from about the 50's to early-mid 60's usually had *all*<br>>> plastic flanges in the action! Does anyone here agree with this? I<br>>> thought<br>>> M&S was on par with Steinway for qualtiy, but maybe that only holds true
<br>> for<br>>> the Grands, and not the verticals. Appreciate any feedback on this matter<br>>> asap. Thanks!<br>>><br>>><br>>><br>>> Terry Peterson<br>>><br>>> _________________________________________________________________
<br>>> More photos; more messages; more whatever. Windows Live Hotmail - NOW<br>>> with<br>>> 5GB storage.<br>>><br>> <a href="http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_5G_0907">
http://imagine-windowslive.com/hotmail/?locale=en-us&ocid=TXT_TAGHM_migration_HM_mini_5G_0907</a><br>>><br>><br><br></blockquote></div>
<div>If you want a parial list of some "good old american Piano names" gone bad after being purchased by Aeolian look up Aeolian in the Piano Atlas! Mason & Hamlin just happened to be one of the first, probably because they were from the same town as Aeolian!
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<div>By the time Aeolian finally went bankrupt in 1985 they were making 37 brands of pianos many of them stencil brands. What are stencil brands, you may ask, those are the pianos they didn't bother having the name cast into the plate for, just a stencil for the fallboard. Most of their pianos were identical inside just the names were changed on the outside(to protect the guilty)they were all very poor quality, mostly spinets and 39" consoles with compact actions. Supposedly Chickering was still privately owned and was having their pianos made for them by Aeolian and were supposed to be of slightly higher quality. I always looked for it but could never detect it.
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<div>The belief was that by having so many names they could market low-end pianos to every dealer in a given market and the consumer would be none-the-wiser. Similar to what is done now by the asian companies having several different brand names available. Such as Samick, Kohler & Campbell, Knabe or Young Chang, Weber, George Steck etc. Which I'm sure they learned from Aeolian.
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<div>As for the plastics most of the companies tried the plastic flanges in their spinets and consoles along with the plastic elbows in spinets, damper assembly(the whole thing except for the wire and the damper head in some cases), backchecks, jacks etc. Not just those mentioned Wurlitzer got in on it too and many others. As for Steinway, they aren't immune, there is vertigris and of course the Teflon bushing fiasco.
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<div>I'm certain you have seen the butt plates on some of the Asian pianos, which are universally disliked by most of the techs I know. It might interest you to know that those were first used on American uprights about 100 years ago, so there really isn't much new under the sun!
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<div>Mike</div>
<div><br>-- <br>Never become so much of an expert that you stop gaining expertise. View life as a continuous learning experience. <br>- Denis Waitley<br><br><br>Michael Magness<br>Magness Piano Service<br>608-786-4404<br>
<a href="http://www.IFixPianos.com">www.IFixPianos.com</a><br>email <a href="mailto:mike@ifixpianos.com">mike@ifixpianos.com</a> </div>