old upright - replace shanks/butts

[Dan Litwin]

Dear all,

Please give advice.  I have replaced a few sets of hammers on old uprights,
but never the whole set of shanks and/or butts.  The case before me uses
expensive "Steinway style" butts with traditional flanges.  It definitely
needs new shanks.  Since the cost of new butts is high, I think I should
replace the shanks only, and repair any bad pinning and flanges (double
flanges - yuck!).

In real life, how much work is it to remove all of the shanks from the
butts and what special tricks do you use to do this?  I can certainly
remove and replace a shank, but to do 88 it seems necessary to find a
production method.

Thanks in advance.

Dan Litwin