Plastic parts back

[James Grebe]

Hi.
 It just seems to me that spending 120 hours + parts cost is way too much to
spend for repair of ANY vertical piano.  I do not know what you charge per
hour?  I know it would be an educational experience , but...
James Grebe
R.P.T. of the P.T.G
pianoman@inlink.com
Creator of Handsome Hardwood Caster Cups and Practical Piano Peripherals in
St. Louis, MO
-----Original Message-----
From: fndango@azstarnet.com <fndango@azstarnet.com>
To: pianotech@ptg.org <pianotech@ptg.org>
Date: Wednesday, November 04, 1998 6:07 PM
Subject: Plastic parts


>When I posted a query for the time to replace a set of plastic damper
>levers a month ago, I got no takers. But I have seen some posts on the
>subject of plastic parts recently, so perhaps this info will be valuable
>to someone:
>
>I recently finished replacing hammer & wippen flanges, backchecks,
>jacks, and damper levers on a 1948 M & H console. Here are the
>approximate times for replacing various parts: damper levers - 12/hr.,
>backchecks - 60/hr., flanges & jacks- 40/hr.
>
>For those who may not have tried this, here are some suggestions:
>
>If you haven't invested in wire-bending pliers yet, do so. The
>side-to-side kind is the most useful. The backwards-and-forwards type
>can also be useful. The recently-available parallel reamer sets are
>great for a $12 investment. I have found them at Schaff and APSCO.
>
>Procedure-wise, my first step was to replace the damper levers. Take out
>an old one, snap off the part above the flange, and hold it against the
>new lever while you approximate the bend of the old one. Install the new
>lever, mount the head, and do a finer bending to match the neighbors.
>Then cut off the excess wire. Next, I repinned the hammer flanges, using
>the neighbors and the string cuts as guides. Chucking a backcheck tool
>into a power drill saved some time in installing the new backchecks.
>
>I should mention that I removed the hammer rest rail, the hammer spring
>rail, and the letoff rail before doing any work. This action had a metal
>action rail, and it was more difficult to work with than a wooden one.
>Action screws don't go into a metal rail easily unless they are
>perfectly straight and match the threading of the rail. Before turning
>the screws in, back them up until they "click" into the right position.
>
>I left the bridle straps disconnected and the keys out of the piano when
>I reinstalled the action(as well as leaving out the aux. rails). This
>left easy access for final regulation of the dampers, and for spacing
>and traveling of the hammers. Then I installed the letoff rail,
>connected the bridle tapes(making sure that the jack springs were
>seated), set letoff, installed the hammer spring rail and hammer rest
>rail, set rest rail position, lost motion, keydip, and damper lift from
>key.
>
>I think that covers the main items. If I've missed something important,
>I think I can count on someone to spot it. Installing the action and
>regulation took 8 hours (there was key easing and misc. minor stuff to
>deal with, too).
>
>This is a nice piano and well worth the effort. It's not easy to work
>efficiently enough to make it pay very well, but it can be done.
>
>Bob Anderson
>Tucso, AZ
>