[CAUT] Capstan predicament

[Jim Harvey]

This is not a CAUT matter, but I'd like to request some options OTHER
than my first couple of instincts -- those include landfill and
marshmallow roast.

The "piano" (being overly generous) is a J Becker. Means nothing?
Okay, an approximately 10-year old Russian-made studio. First service
call, touch resistance was like that of a kitchen table. Did not
explore causes at the time. Second call followed a visit by the
grand-children, who reportedly "broke something".

Enter Harvey, thinking broken keystick, jack saddle, or other. NOT.
One of the capstans was sheared off level with the keystick. More
investigation revealed that capstans are 1) non-standard size,
requiring a crescent wrench on the shoulder; 2) are pot metal,
complete with casting seam lines; 3) threading on screw portion are
course thread -- wood screw style; 4) screw body seems to be thinnest
at point of entry in keys.

Even on the first call, before this experience, I had planted seeds
for a replacement piano, despite its short service life. Not sure at
the moment whether that option will be taken. You see where this is
going...

I'm not unfamiliar with pot metal capstans, but other times I could
remove them. I can likely find appropriate replacement capstans, do
any necessary plugging and drilling, and so forth. It's dealing with
an entire set of potentially sheared off stubs that's the problem. How
can I be sure of the potential? On the obviously broken one, the
homeowner, an accomplished word-worker who builds grandfather clocks,
was going to attempt removing the stub. After he left for his shop, I
discovered the pot metal, stopped his pursuits, and let HIM try to
unscrew another capstan. It snapped off.

A chapter member suggested killing off (breaking) the existing
capstans, and starting a line of new capstans adjacent to the old. I
don't know whether this would work, and if so, whether it might make
the touch weight even worse. I thought of nuking the existing caps
with a soldering iron, even at the expense of charring the wood, to
help removal. Somehow through all of this, I keep envisioning the
metal equivalent of a plug cutter for wood, but don't think such a
thing exists.

Any similar experiences/solutions out there, or am I just over-reacting?

-- 
Jim Harvey, RPT
<harvey.pianotech at gmail.com>
<www.harveypiano.com>