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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Yesterday, I had to disappoint a 90 =
plus year old
lady by telling her that her piano is unusable (no use to tune =
it) at this
time because of plastic parts failure in her Jesse French piano. =
It's
probably a large console with a case designed like a studio with the =
entire top
lifting up much like many Baldwin Hamiltons. It appears to be from =
the
early 50's, though Pierce doesn't give any dates for it. Over 30 =
back
checks are completely gone with a half dozen or so having been replaced =
with
wood at some time in the past. At present there are another six or =
eight
damper levers (plastic, too) that are broken.</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>The question:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Are parts available to fit this =
action to
repair it? I told her that it would probably take a commitment of =
several
hundred dollars to replace all of the plastic, even if suitable wooden
replacements are available. She and I both feel that given the age =
of both
the piano and the client, that repairs are probably not economically
feasible. I feel that repairing only those that are broken at this =
time
will not produce long lasting satisfaction, as other parts will no doubt =
continue to break in the future. Any thoughts or =
suggestions?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks to all.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ray</DIV>
<DIV><BR>~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~<BR>Ray T. Bentley, =
RPT<BR>Registered Piano
Tuner-Technician<BR>Alton, IL<BR><A
href="mailto:ray@bentley.net">ray@bentley.net</A><BR><A
href="http://www.ray.bentley.net">www.ray.bentley.net</A></FONT></DIV>
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