Lonnie: One note about the factory worker tightening the pressure bar without lowering the tension. If the pressure bar breaks, he can just get another and keep going. If you or I break one...... dave *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 1/25/2002 at 10:32 AM Lonnie Young wrote: >Jeff, > >I've done them before without lowering the pitch. I used to never think >that pressure bar screws could be tightened with out lowering the pitch >until I saw a worker do it in the Wurlitzer factory were I used to work. Of >course the pitch then had to be lowered anyway! > >I also found out by accident a trick for tightening the bolts. One day a >coworker and I were working on one of these projects and he began to tap on >the head of the bolt with a hammer while I was tightening the nut. Every >time he hit the bolt I was able to get an extra 1/4 turn on the nut. I >know >it sounds crazy but it worked. We pulled all the gap out. Which by the >way >won't hurt a thing if it does not completely close the crack as long as it >is stable. Also it is important to either get the drilling chips out of >the >crack or clamp it together if possible before drilling. > >Lonnie Young >The University of Southern Miss >Hattiesburg, MS > -----Original Message----- >From: owner-caut@ptg.org [mailto:owner-caut@ptg.org] On Behalf Of >Lawrence >Becker >Sent: Friday, January 25, 2002 9:36 AM >To: caut@ptg.org >Subject: Re: Everett Pinblock Repair > >At 10:11 AM 1/25/02, you wrote: >>List, >>I've got a handful of old Everett studios, some of which have the pinblock >>pulling away problem. These pianos aren't currently in critical >situations >>and are more or less surplus, so they don't receive a lot of attention. >>But we're considering "loaning" some to other entities on campus for >>informal use, and I'd be responsible for maintaining them. I could loan >>them old Hamiltons, but I'd rather keep those here for music students. >> >>Is it absolutely necessary to lower the tension to do the repair of >>replacing the pinblock screws with bolts which go all the way through the >>frame? or can one leave the tension up and simply clamp each section >during >>the process? >> >>I'm trying to keep time spent to a minimum. If I have to lower tension, >>that increases the risk of string breakage and subsequent repair, meaning >>more frequent trips across campus after delivery for retuning. If it's >>going to be more trouble than it's worth, I'll just send a Hamilton. >> >>Thanks, >>Jeff >> >>Jeff Tanner >>Piano Technician >>School of Music >>University of South Carolina >>Columbia, SC 29208 >>(803)-777-4392 (phone) > >Jeff- > >I have repaired a few of these Everetts with the separation. After the >first couple, I thought to save time by not lowering string tension, but >found that the C-clamps I was using were not strong enough to close the gap >against the pull of the strings at tension. So, I went back to lowering >tension. The lowering doesn't take much time, and the piano was going to >need a pitch raise anyway, so I figured I wasn't out much more than an >extra hour. Plus, I couldn't figure how to do the job without it anyhow. > >I still clamped a section at a time, drilling out the lag screw hole, >released tension to spread the glue, then re clamping, installing and >tightening the new bolt. (I just don't like drilling through wet >glue.) Then on to the next section. The new bolt holds well enough to >keep the gap closed until the glue dries. Then next day, pull back up to >tension. Good, stable repair. There was a Journal article in finer detail >awhile back. > >I never had string breakage problems, but I was extra careful with the >coils in the low bass. After a couple tunings, these pianos are more >stable than they were before the repair. > >---------------------------------- >Lawrence Becker, RPT >Piano Technician >College-Conservatory of Music >University of Cincinnati >---------------------------------- _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________
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