I just did the monkey hanger repair and it couldn't have been easier. I am now the official monkey hanger repair guy on the Peninsula... '-] I went to the hardware store for the 95/5 solder, ended up getting silver solder also and a clicker/sparker thingy...what the heck, the repair fee was many times what I invested in the right equipment. David Ilvedson, RPT Pacifica, CA 94044 ----- Original message ---------------------------------------- From: "Jeff Tanner" <tannertuner at bellsouth.net> To: caut at ptg.org Received: 7/31/2009 9:47:27 AM Subject: Re: [CAUT] monkey hanger >----- Original Message ----- >From: "John Ross" <jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca> >To: <caut at ptg.org> >Sent: Thursday, July 30, 2009 6:49 PM >Subject: Re: [CAUT] monkey hanger >> You don't pass any hardware stores on your way to work, or home. >> I don't know how that would take much driving around. >You don't always have time to stop. Even so, you're still investing your >time in a particular repair. It's either costing you or you're passing it >along to the customer. In this case, a recital was to happen later that >afternoon, and access to the piano was limited. There was not time to go to >a hardware store. I temporarily robbed another piano. >> You should already have small cost tools like that. As someone else said, >> the hangers on uprights are another use. >No. They're not. Again, another repair one runs into once in a lifetime, >and the one I last did probably 23 years ago was not soldered. I scored a >nail, like a pedal pin, wedged it in the hole, and it worked perfectly. >I actually have never had a need for a torch other than this, can't imagine >another one, and the only use I have for a soldering iron is the 40 watt one >with the hammer iron attachment. >> I have a small clamp on vice as well. >The university had a vice, but there wasn't a decent work bench to mount it >on. Hence, holding the rod with one hand, the wire with another hand, the >heat source my right foot, the solder with my teeth, etc., got a bit >cumbersome. >> Then again, I might have been at it longer than you, because, when I >> started >> I didn't have a lot of tools. >I've been at it for 25 years. But my acquisition of tools has been limited >due to the nature of the work I have done over the years. The majority of >my time has been spent as a maintenance tech -- tuning, normal repair, and >regulation. I consider this type of repair way out of the ordinary for >piano work, and metal repair not something I have enough experience in to >have any confidence in. About the only thing I do know about soldering is >that you heat the part, not the solder. >> Now I have too many, as I just 'think' I might need it. >And the other thing is, you buy all these tools, and 15 years later when you >next need it, you have no idea where you last laid it down. >There are some repairs where you have to make a judgement call. I can >"repair" it but the repair may not last, or I can replace it. We recommend >replacing the hammer shank rather than splicing it for a reason. Not >knowing what kind of solder to use, what kind of wire to replace the broken >part with, I felt more confident in this particular situation in replacing >the whole part. >I really don't appreciate the smart aleck remarks inferring that I am >somehow less of a piano technician because I didn't have confidence in my >soldering skills in this one situation. Part of being a technician is >making the right decision, and in this case, I still am confident it was. >Tanner
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