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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=mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com
href="mailto:mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com">Farrell</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A =
title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> November 09, 2002 9:49 =
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Chickering 1/4 =
Grand Action
Rebuild</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Hi Robin. Thanks for responding. I sent =
this private
as the list appears to have only negative thoughts about this action. =
My
comments are interspersed below:</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT color=#ff0000>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV>
<DIV> <SPAN =
id=__#Ath#SignaturePos__></SPAN> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080>Terry,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>I tend to =
agree with Robin
on these pianos. Yes, they are challenging, but they are usually so =
loved by
their owners it is worth struggling through with them. I've not yet =
encountered a Quartergrand owner that didn't just love his/her
piano!</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>The action =
is the only
real problem and that is workable with some ingenuity and trial and =
fit.
Joe is also right--fitting a new keyset and action stack is an exercise =
in
frustration. So, don't bother trying to do it. Work with the action
configuration that is there. If the wood brackets are coming apart, put =
them
back together. In one case I soaked a set of these brackets (actually =
for a
piano other than a Chickering) in a bath of coating epoxy for a few =
minutes
until they were pretty well saturated, removed them and hung them up to =
let all
of the excess drain off. Before the epoxy kicked over I inserted =
well-waxed
screws in the various holes--to thread them--and let the whole mess =
cure. After
sanding and filing off all of the excess hardened epoxy I had quite a =
nice
looking and functioning set of brackets. They were/are probably about a =
strong
and stable as most Select Metal modern brackets. The process worked well =
enough
I'll be doing it again to my Decker action brackets.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>Rather than =
fussing with
the originals, you might consider making new action rails (without the =
brass
inserts) and setting them up for some suitable (i.e., modern = wooden) =
hammershank flanges and wippen flanges. By getting a little creative =
with these
actions there is almost nothing you can't do. </FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>When you're =
finished
you'll have a really happy customer. As I've said before, the owners of =
these
pianos tend to really love them. And they will love you for bringing =
their
babies back to life after everyone else has written them =
off.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080>Del</FONT></DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" =
color=#000080></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV dir=ltr><FONT face="Comic Sans MS" color=#000080>PS: Yes, =
their bellywork
can also be challenging, but still it's mostly just good, creative =
woodworking.
Don't be afraid of them just because they're different. That's why God =
gave you
a brain. The individual pinblock pieces can be fitted to the plate in =
pretty
much the normal fashion. And, if you don't want to struggle with =
installing the
pinblock bolts from the bottom--again, it's difficult, not =
impossible--it
doesn't take all that much to drill and countersink and install them =
from the
top per more normal practice. --ddf</FONT></DIV>
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