<html> At 09:30 AM 12/05/2000 -0600, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>on 12/5/00 8:14 AM, JIMRPT@AOL.COM at JIMRPT@AOL.COM wrote: > Brian wrote: > > <<"As for cranking out tunings...  I know it's the piano technician's "bread > and butter".  But I've been thinking if that's what this business is all > about, I think it's time to find a new profession.  I grow to hate it more > each and every tuning.   <now where did that come from? that wasn't what we > were talking about!> > Brian Trout">></blockquote> Brian I didn't follow the beginning of this topic but your words in this paragraph ring true for me. I grew very tired of tuning after 15+ years of full time appointments. It took a while to convert from full time tuning to full time shop work. There is the occasional tuning now, but the majority of the work is shop related. My client db has less than 75 tunings/year (endeavoring to attenuate). This comes from a symbiotic relationship with other tuners, where I have sent them the tuning and in turn they send me the technical aspects. For all those years tuning I endeavored to maintain the "bread and butter" via tuning and the occasional re-whatever was gravy. I wanted the restoration to be the "bread and butter". Now the tuning is the gravy. It all depends on your market. Will your area support a source of reconditioned. rebuilt or re-whatevered pianos?  Start out slow.  Pick a room, put a piano in there, fix it up, sell it; repeat. (keep that order in mind, otherwise you'll have too many pianos waiting to be worked on!)  Once you get established as repair technician, it will be difficult to keep them away. It worked here, YMMV. A trailer is a low cost means to transport a piano, easier too because of the low loading height (good friends are a valuable asset here but pay well, and better when established). There's more than one way to 'skin' a piano . . . <div>Jon Page,   piano technician</div> <div>Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.</div> <div><a href="mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net" EUDORA=AUTOURL>mailto:jonpage@mediaone.net</a></div> ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ </html>