Wurlitzer Broken Damper Springs

[Joe & Penny Goss]

Hi Tom,
Sometimes the pelican spring is almost ready to break and flexes enough
where it will eventually break.
Hard to spot.
Joe Goss
----- Original Message -----
From: Brian Trout <btrout@desupernet.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Thursday, May 11, 2000 4:18 PM
Subject: Re: Wurlitzer Broken Damper Springs


> Hello Tom,
>
> You mentioned a former tenant affectionately named "rodentus miscecus".
I'm
> assuming you mean they had mice?  Sorry, I'm not up on my Latin.  ;-)
>
> I've seen a few pianos where the mice had done damage to wooden parts such
> as the keysticks, and chewed bridal straps, etc.  Most of us are familiar
> with that.
>
> But another thing that sometimes shows up is the results of their
urination.
> I had a Steinway 1098 a year or so back where the mice had 'peed' all over
> the hammer return springs.  Why?  Who knows.  But I found about a dozen or
> so of them had basically disintegrated in the middle of the spring, where
> they were 'peed' upon.  Many more were ready to break.  I ended up
replacing
> the whole set.  The reason I mention it is, in part, because it's not
> something that's necessarily evident without some pretty careful
inspection.
>
> Just something else to look out for.
>
> As for the dampers not lifting very far, is it just that the pelican
spring
> is bending too far?  Or is the bottom board flexing a lot?  Some of these
> things can be a real frustration to try to fix 'cause they weren't right
> from new!  Sometimes a new spring can help.  Sometimes a small object
under
> the piano can help if there's too much flex...an old romance novel comes
to
> mind...(won't dent the floor..., and usually available in a variety of
> thicknesses...).   If you have to pull the action at some point, it might
be
> worth checking to see if there are problems where the damper lift rod is
> attached, whether there might be some loose screws...?
>
> Don't you just "love" spinets???
>
> Good luck,
>
> Brian Trout
> Quarryville, PA
> btrout@desupernet.net
>
>
>