World's Worst Tuner

[Susan Kline]

>Oh boy,  my turn.
>
>Piano-  30's low-end Aeolian grand, terrible condition.   Located in  a
>little church.
>
>Problem-  damper near the tenor break was leaking badly.  Reason-  damper
>felt was a hollowed-out husk, having been eaten from the inside out by
>carpet weevils.
>
>Previous technician's repair-  One (1) Jiffy Lead, SCREWED into the top of
>the damper head.  With two screws, no less;  this guy was no slouch.
>
>The bad news-  it felt just a little bit strange, having one key with a
>perceived downweight of about 4 pounds; also, with the guide rail bushings
>shot,  this altered damper really rattled and banged around.
>
>The worse news- it didn't work. The damper still leaked.
>
>I had two options-
>
>1) screw another jiffy lead onto the damper, to reduce leakage;  then,
>install two leads on all the other dampers to even out the touch
>
>or
>
>2) remove jiffy lead, replace damper felt, patch screw holes (screws had
>split the head).
>
>
>I chose (2) since I was short on time and Jiffy Leads.
>
>
>
>Regards,
>
>Myler, Tom
>
>"Perhaps the greatest wisdom is the knowledge
>of one's own ignorance"
>
>                                 John Steinbeck

Tom, this is really great! Reminds me of one I found a couple months ago.
Old upright (where you'd expect such things), the damper pedal made a noise
quite indescribable, except to say that it was very metallic.

Upon investigation, I found that the pedal was set up so the dowel was too
short. Someone had lengthened it by taking a small metal film can (for one
of the old obsolete sizes of film), putting a fat metal bolt inside, and
upending the whole thing over the end of the dowel. No cushioning of any
kind. At least after it was fixed the owner had a genuine antique film can
and a usable short bolt.

"Nothing is really foolproof, because fools are so ingenious."

Susan Kline, R.P.T.
skline@proaxis.com
P.O. Box 1651,
Philomath, OR 97370
(541) 929-3971