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<DIV>Hi Doug,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Sorry to hear about an undesirable experience. I've had a =
couple of
similar experiences as well. It's not fun working in an =
environment you
find hostile to your well-being.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>The sleds you referred to are interesting. I don't have the =
official
story on them, or an official name for that matter, but I know what =
you're
talking about. I tuned an SF-10 just yesterday morning. This =
is only
speculation from observation, but I would guess it was an attempt to =
design a
precise front speaking duplex. On the one I tuned, I did notice =
that the
front duplexes were singing away, and very much in tune with the =
fundamental of
the string. I didn't take note if they changed intervals as I went =
up the
scale. I suspect that they do. It seemed to provide a =
crispness to
the top end that was more uniform in nature than just random duplex =
noise (just
an opinion), but did not seem to work so well up through the top
octave. Up that far, the fundamental tone of the speaking length =
kind of
gets lost amongst all of the other racket going on, at least on this =
particular
piano. If I recall correctly, they pretty much look the same upon =
first
impression, but upon a closer look, they appear to be all different, and =
have
their own special place in the layout of things. I don't remember =
that
they are numbered, but on a major repair I did on one a couple of =
years ago
where it was all dismantled for plate refinishing, (just a small =
part of
the job), we were very careful to maintain them in their proper =
order and
put them back accordingly. It is indeed possible that one or more =
of those
little Allen screws (the little buttons) holding them in place =
could be
loose, I can't remember just how they go. You mentioned that =
there
was a string or two just barely 'zinging' on the heads of those
screws. You might be able to get to it from underneath with =
the
action removed, and push aside the middle string far enough to get your =
little
Allen wrench in there to tighten... that is if you can stand the =
cigarette smoke
long enough to even pull the action...</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>I'm sure there could be a whole added discussion on the qualities =
of a
duplex which are and are not desirable, tuning / mistuning, energy =
dissipation,
etc... (and perhaps one will follow?). But overall, I do find =
it
interesting, and I do have to commend Baldwin for having tried new =
things such
as the vertical hitch pins, the plate support system (sorry I can't =
think of the
name?), and these little duplex 'sleds'. </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>What do you do when this person calls to schedule their next
appointment? It's your call. I just hope you'll be able to =
be
truthful without being mean (not that you would be...) It may =
very
well be that this person doesn't even realize that their house stinks =
and is
offensive to others. I suspect that this person would probably be =
a little
hurt inside to find out that you were physically sickened by your visit =
with
her. Perhaps she does know, but hasn't dealt with the problems =
yet.
Either way, she's a person, and likely, at least on some level, has =
feelings of
dignity and respect that could easily be trampled upon. Our words =
have a
big impact on those around us, especially at those vulnerable times of
life. I'll have to relate a few of those experiences some =
time. A
wise man once said, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto =
you."
Sometimes it's hard. But it's worth it.</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Best wishes,</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>Brian Trout</DIV>
<DIV>Quarryville, PA</DIV>
<DIV><A =
href="mailto:btrout@desupernet.net">btrout@desupernet.net</A></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
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