Sealed pianos

[Les Smith]

On Fri, 7 Mar 1997, Susan Kline wrote:

> At 07:32 PM 3/7/97 -0500, you wrote:
> >Hi, Avery.
> >
> >I guess this one fits in under the "sealed piano" thread. A couple of
> >years ago I was called in to service an S&S "L" that was exhibiting
> >some action problems. I removed the check block screws easily,  and
> >then the key-slip, check blocks and fall board. No problem. Until I
> >tried to remove the action. It simply wouldn't budge. Further inves-
> >tigation revealed that a charter member of the BPTA ( Bozo Piano
> >Technicians of America) had turned the glides up all the way and then-
> >now get this--glued the keyframe to the keybed! Talk about frustration!
> >It turned some relatively routine action-work into a major PITA. And,
> >yes, my sense of frustration was clearly reflected in my bill! :-)
> >
> >Les Smith
> >lessmith@buffnet.net
>
> Reminds me of a Kawai grand that had been in storage, and when returned, the
> left pedal wouldn't work.  I couldn't get the action out, either.
>
> It turns out the movers had traded screws, and used the lyre screws to hold
> the legs on, going right through the keyframe in the process. Then the leg
> screws were too short for the lyre, so they threw out the washers, and just
> managed to get the lyre to stay on.
>
>
> Susan Kline, R.P.T.
> skline@proaxis.com
> P.O. Box 1651,
> Philomath, OR 97370
> (541) 929-3971

Hi, Sue.

Actually that's a fairly common problem in older grands. What happens
is that the lyre braces either are lost in moving, fall off of their
own accord, or loosen up so much that the large lyre screws strip out
entirely. Then some enterprising tech comes along and replaces them
with larger, longer screws that go right through the keybed, immobil-
izing the action. I guess the thinking is, "What the heck, no one uses
the una corda pedal much anyway." Of course many of those same techs
don't bother to tune the low bass and the high treble for the same
reason! At least the movers of the Kawai put the screws in, even if
were in the wrong places. A couple of years ago I was talking to a
local Samich dealer and we were standing next to a brand new grand
that had just come in and been set up that morning. We were both for-
tunate to have been wearing brown slacks when the piano suddenly
crashed to the floor right in front of us. The movers apparently had
been in a hurry and neglected to put in the leg screws! As the store
owner turned livid and his blood pressure zoomed towrds the 300 level,
I beat a hasty retreat. I figured my laughter might push him over
the edge. Some guys just don't have a sense of humor! :-)

Les Smith
lessmith@buffbet.net