<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML style="FONT-SIZE: x-small; FONT-FAMILY: MS Sans Serif"><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2802" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY style="BORDER-TOP-STYLE: none; BORDER-RIGHT-STYLE: none; = BORDER-LEFT-STYLE: none; BORDER-BOTTOM-STYLE: none" bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Alan,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Just curious, did you notice how out of = regulation the piano was while you were tuning it?  Did you mention to the = customer that it needed work when you were done tuning?   </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>It's so weird seeing old names surfacing as new pianos.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial></FONT><FONT face=Arial></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>Barbara Richmond</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial>near Peoria, IL</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT face=Arial></FONT><BR> <DIV style="PADDING-RIGHT: 5px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-BOTTOM: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 3px solid; PADDING-TOP: 5px"> <HR> Original message<BR>From: "Alan Barnard" <TUNE4U@EARTHLINK.NET><BR>To: = Pianotech <PIANOTECH@PTG.ORG><BR>Received: 2/7/2006 5:26:22 = PM<BR>Subject: Answer to puzzler<BR><BR> <P> <DIV> <DIV align=left>Didn't get very many responses to this puzzler, but = I wil reveal the answer:</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Conover upright, newish.</DIV> <DIV>Customer complained that the soft pedal didn't seem to = work.</DIV> <DIV>Found that the prop stick was not in the hole. Put it in the hole = and regulated it.</DIV> <DIV>Tuned the piano. Drove away.</DIV> <DIV>5 minutes later, I get a call on my cell: "Two notes don't work = when I press the soft pedal."</DIV> <DIV>Turn around, go back. Sure enough two notes (f3 and = g3) don't work unless you hit the keys quite hard.</DIV> <DIV>What was wrong?</DIV> <DIV>Hint (things that were NOT wrong): No hammer interference or any = problems with rubbing or interfering parts. No foreign objects. No keystick = problems. No loose screws. No flange problems. Nothing broken.</DIV> <DIV>Hint: The fix took one tool and about 30 seconds (after about 3 = minutes of professional analysis and diagnosis, i.e., chin scratching, = confused wonderment, and blank staring).</DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Answer: Letoff was so early (about 1/2 inch) that, with the rest = rail lifted, there just wan't enough oomph in the key stroke to throw the = hammer to the strings. I ended up adjusting letoff on most notes and increased aftertouch on the whole piano by replacing the front rail felts with = thinner ones. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>"Why not just remove punchings?" you may ask. (Go ahead, ask, you = know you're dying to...) The reason was that many notes had no punchings = whatsoever under them, and many others had just one or two thin ones!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I don't think it was set up well at the factory and certainly not = in the store.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Alan Barnard</DIV> <DIV>Salem, Missouri</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <P></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>