help please...

[Greg Newell]

Terry,
    The spinet with the hard to remove old elbows should get new center pins.
Press the old ones out and the new ones in. This can be done without taking the
action apart if your careful. I make a piece of wood wide enough to bridge the
gap between the two "ears" of the wippen and hold it there while inserting the
new pin. That saves them from cracking. Needing to do this is quite rare for me.
I always seem to be able to nibble the old plastic out. BTW heating the rod is
for installation NOT removal.
    The Yamaha needs new hammer flanges. They're cheap ($25 from Yamaha) and
really easy to install. When the new set comes check the pinning of the new
flanges and then install by just screwing them in place. You'll understand when
you see it. Traveling is usually minimal. This is like the elbow job in that
onsey twosey doesn't pay off in the long run for the customer. The thread isn't
just weak on a couple flanges. Sooner or later they'll all fail.
    Hope this helps.

Greg Newell


Charly Tuner wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> I spent most of today cleaning up and inspecting two pianos. The first is a
> "Winter" Spinet, serial# 297012..if you know the age I'd appreciate it.
> Also, it's got a Pratt Read Action, and only the Elbows are plastic...thank
> goodness! BUT>>> I tried "melting out the remaining elbows from the flanges,
> but it's way to messy and then you have to scrape out the dried plastic. I
> can't cut them out because the sides of the wooden flages are very
> fragile...so I guess I'll have to remove ALL the pins, at least temorarily,
> in order to remove the remaining elbows..unless anyone has a better idea(s).
>
> Next is a Yamaha U1, serial# D 1212941..again if you can date this one too I
> thank you in advance!  My main question is about the hammer springs, which
> are connected to a thread loop attached to the hammer butt flange..looks
> like they're pressed in the little grooves on either side. Well, several are
> broken, and I've never had to replace these, so any help in this area would
> be greatly appreciated!
>
> Terry Peterson
> Los Angeles, CA
> Associate Member, PTG
>
> ________________________________________________________________________
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