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<DIV>April Fools!</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV>David I.</DIV>
<DIV><BR><FONT face=Arial size=2>*********** REPLY SEPARATOR
***********<BR><BR>On 4/1/01 at 9:07 PM Erwinpiano wrote:</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Ken </FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I enjoyed your tale immensely but hey buddy have
you got too much time</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>me on your hands? Just kidding. Really ,you
did get me thinking and I think I could perhaps attach some generic kind of
vibrator to my reg. bench. Boy would that be handy! but not as therapeutic as
your set up. hmmm Maybe I'll visit goodwill tomorrow.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dale Erwin</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message -----
<DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A
title=kenrpt@cvn.net href="mailto:kenrpt@cvn.net">Ken Jankura</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV>
<DIV><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, April 01, 2001 5:29 PM</DIV>
<DIV><B>Subject:</B> Decoupler tale</DIV></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Dear List,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I always like coming up with ideas to make
certain tasks we do as technicians easier and more efficient, and, if I may, I
like to share my latest with you today. But let me tell
you the evolution of my new technique. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> We all have to take touchweight
measurements on an entire keyboard from time to time, and what a chore it can
be. It's not that the work is so difficult, but for me it's the stress
brought on by what I call 'the uncertainty factor', that is, knowing how
often and how hard to tap the keybed to break that pesky static
friction. The situation reminds me of that old TV commercial from
the 60's, debating whether to use Ex-Lax or prunes for
constipation, and the concerned housewife remarks, "With prunes I'm never
sure, are 2 enough, are 6 too many?" I find myself in a
similar quandary tapping the keybed. Richard Davenport, in the PTJ of
Feb, 1999, used a swinging mallet contraption to tap his action model
experiment in a controlled and repeatable way. He called it
the 'static friction inertia decoupler'. I like to think that I've come
up with the Ex-lax of static friction inertia decouplers; smooth, fast acting,
reliable, and completely safe.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> I stopped at a yard sale a while
back and spied an old game that I remember from my youth. It's the one where
the metal gameboard is a football field and you set up the little football
players on the field, and then turn it on, and the whole surface vibrates, and
the players move forward (or whichever direction they are facing) and the
object is to strategize and set them up in a way that allows your designated
ball-carrying player to break free and score a touchdown. Anyway, I had
a flash of inspiration when I saw that game, as well as a plunge into the
wellspring of nostalgia, and I thought, "here's my ticket to static
friction inertia decoupling nirvana". Next chance I got, I C-clamped
it to the side of a grand keyframe, set up the players (for fun), and,
with my gram weights at the ready, turned it on. All I can say is 'Wow'. That
gentle vibrating action was just the ticket to keep those keys moving freely.
No tapping guesswork necessary. There were two problems, though. One was
that I kept getting distracted by the game, trying to figure out strategy
for my next play, and two, the vibration seemed to be a little too strong in
the treble where the gameboard was clamped, and not quite strong enough in the
bass. I did consider getting another game and clamping it to the bass end
of the action, but, 1) my regulating table isn't long enough, 2) I
thought it would just add to the problem of distracting me by trying
to play two games at once, and 3) the beat rate
produced by the vibrating oscillations of the two games might throw both
the strategy of the game play and the gentle quality of the static friction
inertia decoupling right out the window. So, back to the drawing
board.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> At the local Goodwill store, I had
another one of those flashes, as if of inspiration, when I saw a brown
naugahyde Barca-lounger with Magic-Fingers. It was kind of worn out for
$50, but what convinced me to get it was the built-in heater. I purchased
it and moved it to my shop and got to work. I built some
brackets and attached them to the underside of an old table top from an
office desk, then I attached the table top permanently to the arms
of the Barca-lounger. You have to squeeze in from the top or
scrunch in from underneath, but once you're there, buddy, it's the easy seat.
I crank up the built-in heater and start those Magic Fingers, and, I could
take touchweight measurements all day, every day. The chair has two
vibration settings, and I use both, as necessary. If it is an old piano action
with flat, crusty, graphited knuckles, I run it on high. If it's a
reconditioned one with smooth, round, tefloned knuckles, low speed seem to
work just fine. Nice even vibration from bass to treble, no stressful tapping
guesswork, and best of all, the added bemefit of no more nagging
backaches. One tip for those who try this, you will need to put little
neoprene washers on the bottom of your gram weights to keep them from sliding
off the key, or, as I like to think of it, 'getting tackled' :-). So when
I'm in my shop these days, you can find me either honing my set-up
strategy on the electric football game, or relaxing and taking trouble
free touchweight measurements on piano actions. Last week I even gave a
discount to someone whose action came in only for key bushings, just
because I knew I would want to take touchweight measurements for
fun, and I would feel like I had been to the spa afterward. These
are the kind of benefits I like to pass back to the customer, whenever
possible.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2> Well, my back feels a little
stiff, guess I should go out to the shop and do a little "work" til I
feel better. You all have a great day.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ken Jankura </FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Newburg, PA</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
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