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<DIV>In a message dated 12/3/2003 8:24:08 PM Pacific Standard Time, mark@nhp=
ianos.com writes:</DIV>
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<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 1=
0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>In =
the past year I installed two sets of “Miracle <SPAN class=SpellE>=
Wips</SPAN>”, made by <SPAN class=SpellE>Tokiwa</SPAN> via <SPAN c=
lass=SpellE>Pianotek</SPAN>. Both sets quickly developed fairly noisy sque=
aks where the rep lever spring slides in the slot on the underside of the le=
ver. I tried clear Teflon and <SPAN class=SpellE>protek</SPAN>, both on th=
e spring and in the slot, which originally had painted on graphite. The spri=
ngs are clean, and don’t appear to have any loose or missing plating=
or corrosion, and I’ve looked with a microscope. Both pianos are in=
humidity-controlled environments. Both these sets are also plagued by =
Suddenly Tight Center-Pin Syndrome” with friction jumping from=
2 – 3 grams to 20 – 30 grams! After just spending several h=
ours each on both pianos, pulling every <SPAN class=SpellE>wip</SPAN> and =
checking/repining flanges & jacks and lubing all the slots, the customer=
calls back to say: “Its baa-<SPAN class=SpellE>ack</SPAN>!=
<SPAN style="mso-spacerun: yes"> </SPAN>Has anyone ever run acros=
s this on any piano and found a permanent solution?<o:p></o:p></SPAN></FONT>=
</P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 1=
0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"><o:p> </o:p></SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 1=
0pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">- <STRONG><FONT size=4>Mark</FONT></STRONG></SPAN=
></FONT></P></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4><STRONG> &=
nbsp; Actually I've had this squeaking on very few tokiwa parts =
but solved the problem by lubing with protek grease. The tight pins syndrome=
in many cases will just require re -pinning. The cause here can be A. glue =
contamination B. plating on japanese pins sometimes fakes off & clogs up=
felt (German ones too sometimes). C.Wood changing dimension. D. pinned=
too tight to begin with & then the wood swells. E. Who could possibly k=
now.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4><STRONG> &=
nbsp; Don't be to hard on the tokiwa parts with a blanket indictment. I've h=
ad similar problems with most parts. Contact the importer at Pacific piano.<=
/STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=#000040 size=4> =
Dale</FONT></STRONG></DIV></BODY></HTML>