Rippen Actions

[David Porritt]

On Wed, 27 Sep 1995 EBordeleau@aol.com wrote:

> Greetings from the Granite state!
>
> I have a Lindner console piano, made in Ireland, with a Rippen action, made
> in Holland.  According to the serial number it was made in the early 1960's.
>  The Rippen action is of a very unconventional design and utilizes a lot of
> plastic parts.
>
> This piano has a problem with its keyboard.  The keys themselves are
> constructed from  molded plastic (no wood at all!) and instead of a balance
> rail pin, there is a flat piece of spring steel which is embedded in the
> bottom of the key, and mounted on another plastic part that snaps into a
> U-shaped channel that serves as the equivalent of a balance rail.  Those
> parts that snap into the rail have a springy "tail" that locks them into the
> rail, and it is those tails that are breaking due to the brittleness that the
> plastic has developed.  Needless to say, this causes a real problem with key
> "chucking" - its like having a floating balance pin, and the key can move
> front to back a good 1/8".
>
> I have been unable to find any supplier in the US who knows anything about
> these actions or where to get service information, let alone replacement
> parts.  I wrote to Rippen in Holland, using the address listed in the 1994
> Music Trades Directory, but never recieved a reply.
>
> Does anyone know where to find service information or parts for these
> actions?  If not, does anyone have experience repairing these plastic parts,
> or making up suitable replacements?  Theoretically I could just remove the
> whole keyboard and replace it  with a conventional wood keyframe and
> keyboard, but the time and expense would easily exceed the value of the
> piano.  Any suggestions would be appreciated.
>
> Ed Bordeleau
> Pianoarts, Inc.
> Hooksett, NH

I'm prone to give up on pianos that seem to have insuperable problems.  A
friend of mine had one of those pianos with the Rippen actions several
years ago.  He took a trip to Europe and tried to find parts while he was
there without success.  We finally came to the conclusion that throwing
the piano away was going to be his best option.

It always seems a shame to just throw it away, but sometimes it is the
most ecconomical option.

Dave Porritt
SMU - Dallas