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<DIV><FONT size=2>Hi, Unless there has been some change to the legs, =
Bechstein's
normally have a large wood screw, turned (lathed) as part of the leg - =
Column or
round. Just twist and they come off</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><BR>Brian</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><BR> </DIV>
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style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Billbrpt@AOL.COM =
href="mailto:Billbrpt@AOL.COM">Billbrpt@AOL.COM</A>
</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, August 13, 2002 =
8:04
PM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> More Advice Sought for =
100+ Year
Old Bechstein</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>List, =
<BR><BR>The Man
of La Mancha show now over (with guitar tuned to my specs) and the =
Chamber
music series also concluded, I received a phone call today from the =
Frank
Lloyd Wright Foundation director with the most laudatory comments I =
could have
ever imagine from the musicians, one of the principal sponsors (with =
whom I
had locked horns in the past over issues about what it *really* takes =
to
prepare a piano for a concert) and Foundation members themselves who =
have
known the sound of that piano for decades. <BR><BR>I spent a total of =
12 hours
doing alignment, fine regulation and voicing plus 3 concert tunings, =
all for
which I was paid my standard rate (yippee!). I used the =
knowledge I had
gained principally from the excellent teaching of Bill Garlick RPT and =
Scott
Jones RPT at Steinway factory training seminars. <BR><BR>The "sloppy" =
feel and
limited dynamic range were due to too much aftertouch and just plain =
soft
hammers. The action had been set up with a maximally deep keydip =
of
7/16". I went with that but filled in on it in final regulation =
to get
uniform aftertouch which I set at the most minimum amount possible. =
I
set letoff as close as possible and gave it a very long blow distance. =
Minimum let off, extra long blow and minimum aftertouch provided =
maximum
power and dynamic range. <BR><BR>I juiced the hammers with my usual =
keytop and
acetone, right on top of the striking surface and nowhere else. =
Yipes!!!
you say? Well, it always works for me. The difference is =
that I
use *extremely* light concentrations and avoid the left end of the =
striking
surface which will strike the strings when the soft pedal is used. =
I did
a total of 5 applications and very lightly needled and scratched =
*between* the
grooves for a maximum effect during soft pedaling. <BR><BR>Obviously, =
the
alignment and regulation must be very precise and even for this to =
work and
that is what takes so much time. The juicing itself couldn't =
have taken
more than 15 minutes total. These are techniques I learned at =
the
Steinway factory. <BR><BR>Now, it appears that the piano legs are =
weakening
and the Fellowship wants me to accept a commission to repair them. =
I
usually think of myself primarily as a tuner who also does some =
occasional
voicing and regulation work but my rebuilding days ended over 15 years =
ago.
I would like to take this job, however. Any of the few =
area
rebuilders would haughtily scoff at this job saying, "I'm too busy" =
and/or "I
only work on Steinways". That's how I got involved with these =
people to
begin with, no one else would accept the challenges. <BR><BR>They will =
pay me
for my time and they have plenty of young men there who can help me =
get the
piano on its side so the legs can be worked on. From what I =
gather,
there are steel rods in the hollows of these legs but there has been =
some wear
and tear which has made the rods loose. I have heard of these =
rods being
fixed by pouring in epoxy. Any thoughts on this? It has =
been many
years since I worked with epoxy so I don't even know where to look for =
the
kind I might need. Any experienced advice would be much appreciated.
<BR><BR>Bill Bremmer RPT <BR>Madison, Wisconsin <BR><A
href="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b =
r e m m e r
. c o m =-</A> </FONT></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>