Follow up to Grand Repair Question

[Vanderhoofven]

Dear Friends,

On April 30, 1996 I posted a question to the list.  My question had to do
with how to remove the leg of a grand piano by myself.

>Dear Friends on Pianotech,
>
>I have a problem:
>
>-1930's Vose and Sons 5'7" grand (in poor condition) in a town 25 miles away
>-2 broken strings on said piano
>-about a dozen loose tuning pins in bass section (From dry winter)
>-long screw running through leg plate into bass end of keyframe
>-removal of action impossible because of long screw
>-repair of loose tuning pins and replacement of strings not possible because of
>     inability to remove action and support pinblock with pinblock jack
>-twice set up time to have several people assist in repair (remove leg, remove
>     screw, reinstall leg), but no luck in making connections with helpers
>
>Question:  Is it possible for one person to remove and replace a grand
piano leg by themselves (and live to tell about it) and if so, what is the
proper procedure?
>
>Thank you for your indulgence of my Associate-level Question.
>
>Sincerely,
>David A. Vanderhoofven

Well, here is a follow up to my question.  I received replies from Les
Smith, Ted Sambell, Newton Hunt, Glenn Grafton, Paul Dempsey, Larry Fisher,
Greg Newell, Jim Harvey, Kent Swafford, and Roland Kaplan.  Thank you all
for your interest and responses.

Following the advice of several of you, especially Jim Harvey (Thanks!), I
ended up using a 2 ton hydraulic automobile jack sitting on top of a wooden
box to lift the grand piano.  The repair went off without a hitch.  The long
screws in the leg plates were replaced with shorter screws, the action is
now free to be removed, and the strings and tuning pins have been repaired.

The plans for such a leg/lyre box are located in the November 1988 JOURNAL,
in an article written by Susan Graham.  The article, "Grand Leg and Lyre
Repair" gives lots of helpful information about how to build and use a
wooden box as a support for a jack to lift one side of a grand piano in
order to do leg repairs.  Unfortunately, the November 1988 JOURNAL is no
longer available from the PTG Home Office, because they are sold out.
Fortunately, the article by Susan Graham is reprinted in  one of the books
of JOURNAL article reprints called REBUILDING SKILLS.  That book is
available from the PTG Home Office for $15.00 plus shipping.  (The JOURNAL
Article Reprint Books are very informational and educational.  Get them, and
you will be glad!  End of Blatant Advertisement!)

Just wanted to let you know the results and to thank you all for help and
advice.

Sincerely,


David A. Vanderhoofven
dkvander@clandjop.com
Joplin, Missouri, USA
Associate Member, Piano Technicians Guild
web page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/