%#@$pers

[Ron Nossaman]

One of the interesting things about this job is that you'll never run out
of surprises, or the nearly infinite number of ways someone you don't even
know can invent to make your life difficult.

The last week, I stripped a set of dampers from a piano that had been
previously rebuilt, maybe ten years ago - or so. In order to save time, I
assume, the last guy had stripped off the original dampers using a belt or
disk sander. The damper head had been laid on the table, and pushed into
the abrasive (whichever), first one side, then the other. I'm sure it went
really quickly for him, but it didn't leave the bottoms of the heads even
remotely flat. They all curved up at the ends anywhere from 1 - 2
millimeters above the plane. Swell. Boys and girls, don't do this, it's
really annoying. Soak or steam them off, or put them in a vise one at a
time and scrape them carefully with a *sharp* scraper, making every effort
not to destroy wood. Your Karma will benefit. I've already filed a request
that that last guy come back as an assistant principal at a remedial
school, so don't let this happen to you. 

The guy didn't stop with whacking up the heads either. The wires were also
cleverly bent, consisting of a randomly abrupt bend just above where the
wire comes out of the block, and swooping in all sorts of quite creative
and interesting directions from the bend up to the head, even in instances
where it was a straight shot and no bend should have been required. It's
almost as if the guy had a little trouble getting them to "work" after he
installed them. Go figure. I didn't have a set of heads and wires on hand,
or I would have just started over from scratch. I considered ordering them,
but I needed them immediately, and didn't want to wait on the inevitable
two week to forever back order delay. It's probably just me, since I know
the rest of you never have any trouble whatsoever ordering parts and
getting them in minimum time, but I'm learning to cope. <G> 

After shimming the heads out with veneer strips, trimming everything flush,
straightening the damper wires, spacing heads, making new alignment bends,
and installing the dampers, it cost me an extra half day, but they seem to
be doing fine now, though I'm still a little irritated. 

When I got it, this piano also had three springs installed underneath,
mounted on rather slick looking little "ell" brackets with little wood
platforms for the springs, to hold up the soundboard. The soundboard itself
had plenty of evidence of attempted past repair, but it was still
apparently past repair. 

When my back ordered wippens get here (faith), I can finish the action and
see how it sounds. I'm expecting somewhat better than the way it came in.

Now if my 11th attempt (three different labs) in six months to get a
decently made pair of glasses that I can actually see out of is successful,
I can tell what it looks like too. I wouldn't bet a nickle on it though.
Like I said, I'm learning to cope, and I can still stack a pair of reading
glasses onto my current pair for reading, shop, and computer work. Getting
old is a real inconvenience. Don't do that either if you get the option.

Ron N