<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=iso-8859-1" = http-equiv=Content-Type> <META content="MSHTML 5.00.2614.3500" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV> Subject; Birdcage piano. Problem 1st, diatribe 2nd, and for those still with me the whole = story 3rd. I don’t do many birdcage pianos, fortunately. Today...a doozie! = After tuning I could not get the dampers to damp. It is as though the action itself = is warped or something. From about F1 to C5 the dampers are not contacting the = strings sufficiently to stop the tone either individually or collectively. Any = note played sets the entire piano warbling. When I push in on the action the situation is better, but not fixed. There is plenty of play in the = sustain pedal so that is not the problem (2 pedals; the other moves a felt strip in = front of the hammers). The problem is so severe that even when cutting off sound = with finger on the strings the C5 (for instance) tone continues to sound from = sympathetic vibrations of other strings, almost as though the sustain = pedal were being held down. C#5 on up seems to work fine. Starting with that note the dampers are = smaller, and the wooden stop at the bottom of the damper wire has some = slack before contacting the lower action mechanism. I tried adding some slack = to the C5 as well, but it didn’t seem to help. I tried adjusting the wire holding the damper itself toward the = string, but that didn’t seem to solve it either. Perhaps it might have helped = that one tone, but the rest of the piano sounding sympathetically made it appear not to = have helped???? There is a wood dowel keeping the action from being moved back toward = the strings; one on each side. The locking mechanism for the action is in = good repair. HELP. Someone with great knowledge on English Overdamper pianos tell = me what I need to do to get those dampers working properly. 2nd. Diatribe: Nice owner. Recently retired, now wants to learn to play the piano. = This piano was sold to him for $600 in Eastern Washington State. It was = obviously sold "AS IS." 198 cents flat! A Bird cage piano yet...problems with = dampers as noted above...and FILTHY. They couldn’t even bother to take a = vacuum to it??? Dust underneath the keys was so matted and thick it was like felt. Even = a 1907 English penny under there. I know, I know..."Caveat emptor, Let the buyer beware" But still... = Here is a man who wants to learn to play the piano. He goes into a music store for = help. They sell him a nice looking piece of crap that can’t be played! = "It just needs a tuning!" I can see the saleman giggling about how they finally = unloaded that white elephant on some unsuspecting rube. Maybe I am wrong. If you are = the man in the store in Eastern Oregon who perpetrated this mess, email me and = explain how I have misinterpreted it. If this were someone looking for antiques = to fix up and sell, or someone interested in it as a curiosity, ok. But someone = expecting to come home and start in on John Thompson #1??? I don’t = think so! #3 The Whole Story. The call comes in last week. We establish a day and time, and today = is it. 60 miles from home. Turn on a secondary road that goes up the mountain, = then turns into a dirt road. 6 miles of washboard rattling your eyeteeth, and = sending up a dust cloud that could obscure the sun; up the mountain, down the = mountain, and a switchback every 200 ft. What is amazing is that there were MANSIONS out = there. 3 or 4 of them. The clients house didn’t appear to be much from = the outside; manufactured home on the absolute top of the mountain with a chain link = fence to keep out the deer. Inside is very nice, but what makes it special is = that he has put the house on top of bluff and made a second story below the house. = Very impressive. And he built it all himself bit by bit as he could pay for = it, so that now it is free and clear. Anyway, that is the locale. The piano is beautiful. The outside has been well cared for. = Everything actually works, the keys all make sound, the pedals actually work. But = 198 Cents flat. Are you remembering that this is an overdamper? Its bad enough to = do that big a pitch raise on a normal one, but on an overdamper it is a long = day. I got a lot of practice taking birdcage action in and out. and got it up to = only -25 cents, and only broke 1 string (which I replaced..ok?) Then the damper = problem manifested itself. Couldn’t solve it, so came home to ask for help = from all of you. Incidentally it is a Rintoul B. Not listed in my Pearce. Anybody know = anything? No serial number that I could find. Ed Carwithen John Day, OR Yes, I am member of PTG...associate. Yes, I go to meetings. Yes, I have looked for information in the Reblitz and in my Potter = course manual. </DIV></BODY></HTML>