>After years of removing and installing grand plates by standing the piano on >its side and tipping the plate out I've decided that me and my back are too >old for such foolishness and I purchased a good chain hoist, lifting straps >etc. Now, can anyone tell me the secret for hooking the damn thing up so that >the plate will raise in a suitably flat plane,e.i., not tilted one way or the >other or too low in the back? > >Paul Dempsey >Marshall University >wippen@aol.com Paul, One more suggestion: use only one long moving strap and starting with the non-buckle end, weave it down between the bass agraffes and the bass strut, over to the V-bar, come up between the pinblock and the V-bar, up through your hoist hook, down to one of those convenient round holes in the plate, then under the plate and back up through the most rearest (sic) (most distal?) hole, then up, completing the journey home through the hoist hook and buckle to the other end. So... you have a three point system with only two of the"branches" going through the hoist hook. This system is somewhat self-leveling and easy to adjust either by changing the relative tension in each branch, or by slipping the hook slightly forward (proximal) or backward (distal). If I've lost you with these wonderfully clear instructions, write me personally and I'll fax you a diagram. Also, you might consider getting some aluminum flashing 8-10" wide (available at reputable hardware stores) to run around the inside of the rim when lifting/dropping plates and installing/destalling plate bolts. Protects the finish and lowers the blood pressure. Have fun! John Foy, RPT maxwell@nr.infi.net Winston-Salem, NC
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