Jeff, In about 1990 or so I worked on a Yamaha C7. I was called in to regulate and voice the piano, which had been worked on by several other techs. I reshaped the hammers, levelled strings and all the normal prep and regulation work. The hammers had been needled by other techs. They were rocks. I did some more needling. It still sounded lousy. I doused with alcohol and water. After a short time the hammers really ballooned out. I thought they were going to explode. I nearly crapped in my pants. In panic mode I reshaped the hammers again. Not taking much felt off, but just to get back to a shape resembling a piano hammer. Fitted the hammers to the strings and all that stuff. Low and behold the hammers actually produced tone. Good tone in fact. I have been tuning the piano ever since, maybe every other year, and the tone is still remarkably good. I just tuned it again about 3 months ago and I am still amazed. The hammers looked totally shot, but in fact, still produce very nice tone. This being said, the piano in question is in a living room, not a performance hall, so projection is not an issue. And it does not get a lot of banging. The man playing is a decent, if not professional, pianist who has a very critical ear but not a heavy touch, who enjoys Chopin, Debussy and Ravel rather than R&R or jazz. The upshot of all this is that those hammers might still have life, even though they look like hell warmed over. But the larger issue is, as some have mentioned, the political BS. I don't think I'd have much tolerance for the situation you are in. If I understand correctly, the adjunct prof paid his own money to have the other tech come in and do his magic. Which resulted in ballooned hammers, right? Seems to me that this adjunct prof should be required to pay to have the hammers repaired or replaced. The tech in question is responsible for the results of his technique which includes anticipating what happens when you put alcohol and water on a hammer that might have been needled (which is not as hypocritical of me as it sounds in light of the "learning experience" related above). So how much do you care about continuing on at UM? Is it worth it? Do you still get health insurance through your wife's employment? Can you make up the lost income through gigs and other less-stressful or more-fulfilling work? Call me sometime, if you like. Alan -- Alan McCoy, RPT Eastern Washington University amccoy@mail.ewu.edu 509-359-4627 > From: Jeff Stickney <jpstickney@montanadsl.net> > Reply-To: "College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>" <caut@ptg.org> > Date: Tue, 10 Jan 2006 09:04:28 -0700 > To: "College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>" <caut@ptg.org> > Subject: Re: [CAUT] Water/Alcohol on Yamaha Hammers > > Mike, > > Your comments describe exactly where I'm at right now. Everyone is in > damage control mode which, to me, is very frustrating. I'm trying to > keep my cool and not let things get out of control. Better > communication and clarification of my relationship to the Music > Department may be positive results of this situation. However, the > alcohol/water solution was applied and the hammers literally exploded. > Where I had deep needled on the shoulders, the hammers literally split > open and are obviously ruined. The other tech's initial reaction was to > blame the needling - his application merely relaxed the felt and exposed > the already ruined hammers. I have confidence that most of the players > understand that that is not true. Had the solution not been applied, > the hammers could have lived a long and happy life (or at least longer > than this disaster). > > There is already talk of not wanting to use the Yamaha parts - they only > come pre-hung and cost somewhere around $1,500.00. Also, this is a > disklavier, and it's not clear if they have shanks for the disklavier > (with the tab/flag thingy - nice technical term, no?), or if the > tabs/flags would have to be installed. Is it reasonable to consider > putting another type hammer on the old shanks/flanges (the piano is from > 1994, but as I said has not gotten heavy use), or should I be insisting > on the Yamaha parts? It would certainly be nice to put on all new parts > (pre-hung no less). If an alternative is considered, what would you-all > recommend? Ronsen, Renner? The saga continues. Sorry if the list is > tiring of this. > > Thanks, > Jeff Stickney > > central wrote: >> Jeff, >> Laying low with truthful communication sounds like a good plan. >> Whatever you do, don't quit in fear or anger. The truth always wins if you >> don't run away. Also be careful after your victory comes to avoid any >> temptation to retaliate. >> The real battle is a spiritual one. >> -Mike Jorgensen >> >> >> On 1/7/06 12:27 PM, "Jeff Stickney" <jpstickney@montanadsl.net> wrote: >> >> >>> I have come to the conclusion that it >>> is best to lay as low as possible, but still communicate my reservations >>> or at least caveats (a la Susan Kline - thanks, Susan) regarding using >>> alcohol and water. >>> >> >> _______________________________________________ >> caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives >> >> > _______________________________________________ > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
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