Prepping new pianos

[Kevin E. Ramsey RPT]

Good Luck Avery,,, Some times you DO luck out, I hope this is one of them,
but with Asian pianos, you never know. I've been in exactly the same
situation.

----- Original Message -----
From: "Avery Todd" <avery@ev1.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 7:03 PM
Subject: RE: Prepping new pianos


> Hi Rob and Lance,
>
>     I guess that's an advantage of me only having to do the work at the
> store. I (so far) have not had any of the problems you mention. (Except
> for occasional damper problems in the store.) Probably because I
> haven't had to follow them up in the field. YET! :-)
>     But a C153 has just recently been sold to a restaurant next to a
> Marina close to Houston and because of the people involved (a
> Baldwin rep. AND the dealer), I'm probably going to have to service
> it. Plus, the owner of the restaurant and his wife (both play) liked it so
> much that they bought another one for their home!
>     Maybe I'll get lucky. Think? :-)
>
> Avery
>
> At 04:55 PM 12/26/00 -0600, you wrote:
> >Hey Rob,
> >Ease dropping....  I used to work for a Samick dealer and now still run
into
> >lots of Korean pianos in the field.  Your experiences are typical in my
> >experience.  The pianos just are not stable.  If the piano is left in the
> >field unchecked it will get so bad that removal of all dampers and
complete
> >action easing is often necessary.  Under levers, guide rail, flanges,
jacks,
> >balance rail holes, key bushings....all of it.  Steinway and other makers
> >lean the damper wire to one side, the problem here is that the bushing is
> >just too tight.  Ideally, ironing the bushings with a bridge pin in a
> >electric key easing tool (with thermostat) permanently fixes the
bushings,
> >also key ease the bushings.  I use the chuck side of a drill bit to size
the
> >balance rail holes (mic to size slightly larger than pins) and use
methanol
> >and a hair drier on the rest.  If the these pianos are received and kept
dry
> >these problems are minimized, but they are usually allowed to swell up
and
> >you have these problems.
> >
> >You may also have action noise, string voicing problems, damper seating
> >problems, and false beats. When I see one in the field for the first time
I
> >always recommend a Dampp-Chaser.  Good Luck,
> >
> >Lance Lafargue, RPT
> >Mandeville, LA
> >New Orleans Chapter, PTG
> >lancelafargue@bellsouth.net
> >
> >-----Original Message-----
> >From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf
> >Of Rob Kiddell
> >Sent: Tuesday, December 26, 2000 1:02 PM
> >To: pianotech@ptg.org
> >Subject: Prepping new pianos
> >
> >
> >Avery wrote:
> >
> > > my university job, I don't really have the time to do a lot of that
> > > kind of work. Most of my time there is spent prepping new
> > > Baldwin's, Wurlitzer's and Yamaha's. Plus some tuning. <snip>
> >
> >And Rob replies,
> >
> >Hi Avery! I work at a Baldwin dealership, and lately it seems that
> >I've been having a lot of problems with new Wurlitzer (Samick)
> >grands. Two specific problem areas:
> >
> >1) sluggish jack centres that result in a non-returning jack, but only
> >after about a half-hour of continous playing. I replace the offending
> >pins, which are invariably tight in the flange and loose in the
> >birdseye. Not easy to spot during floor prep - do you experience
> >this and have appropriate early detection remedies?
> >
> >and 2)
> >
> >@#$%@#$% dampers that hang up into space. Again, they
> >usually manifest themselves once in the field. They are usually just
> >brushing one side of the guide rail bushing, and a gentle wire bend
> >accompianied with guide rail bushing reaming cures it. However,
> >any preventatitive preparation techniques would be appreciated.
> >
> >Happy non-denominational winter festivities.
> >
> >Regards,
> >
> >Rob Kiddell RPT
> >Atonal Piano Service
> >http://www.telusplanet.net/public/atonal/
>