Good to be back with the friends here at piano central. Thanks to all who gave suggestions on where to go and what to see. I had a great trip and saw more than I thought possible. I went to Harrod's and saw all the pianos. The store is a lot like the paino dept at Macy's in New York. This post will not be as long as last years return post was. I checked back with all the pianos that I repaired and tuned last year in Namibia and to my wonderful surprise the CA treatments had been an huge success. The pianos that I treated last year were holding up just as I had left them. Some did not call for me to tune them this year when I came do to the fact that "they were not out of tune." I was thrilled to see that the pianos had been used all year. There were countless new young students learning piano and the pianos were playing well for them. I was so thrilled at the result a year later. This year I tuned a piano for the NBC that is the Namibian Broadcasting Company. The only TV you can watch there without a Satellite dish. I was told they had a piano that could not be repaired. I went down to find a Hamburg "B" about twenty-five years old with many replaced strings in the high treble. It was, over all, out of tune and 40 cents too sharp. The action felt hard and terrible. I took the action out and saw that all the rep levers were low and the jacks were riding high through the windows. The jacks were set back a bit too far from the knuckle as well. I did not have a chance to do any repairs or tune at that time since they were just about to use the studio. I suggested that I could come back later that day. I went back and told him I could greatly improve it in three hours, make it play well in five. He said "oh no, I can only give you fourty five minutes." I tuned the thing down to concert pitch and left with my heart sad that I could not do the necessary repairs on the instrument. However I heard it played later on the air and at least now it was in tune. Brian, I will give them your email address and have them contact you. They likely will have the work done that it needs. It needs a good regulation and hammers reshaped and voicing. I may have many pianos for you to service if you feel like making the trip from Joburg. I am including a copy of last years post to give an idea of what I did last year. If you read it last year disregard, it is a bit long. Hi all, > > I just got back from Africa. The pianos I saw were, for the most part, old > German uprights. 85 note two pedal pianos. In Windhoek they nearly all had > cracked bridges and loose pins. Actions in poor condition, hammers deeply > grooved and in bad regulation. Soundboards that, again, had cracks you could > drive a truck through. Humidity is nonexistent in Windhoek, Namibia. I did > come across a brand of piano fairly often called an Otto Bach. This company > went out of business some 5-6 years ago. This company was a South African > company. They seemed to hold up well in these extreme conditions. They had > laminated bridges and soundboards. The actions on some older models seemed > to be good German parts. On a newer Otto Bach I saw a curious detail. The > last damper was cut so that only two strings were dampened (the Yamaha way). > Yes it appeared to be a Yamaha action. This one looked, smelled, and played > as a Yamaha M1 would. Curious, huh? > > I did not know Yamaha sold actions to other companies...or maybe I am wrong > here. > > The most important item in my kit was ... you guessed it ... CA glue. I had > several of the thin and many of the medium viscosity on hand. I met with > Brian Lawson in Joburg and he had some super glue he had bought locally and I > told him I would have to send him the good stuff. In South Africa you just > can't find this stuff. > > I began by placing pianos on their backs. Most of these pianos had been > declared dead by the Techs that have come out of Capetown or Joburg. I had > nothing to loose and everything to gain. I took the bass strings off the > bass bridges and filled the gaps first with a thin CA to wick into all the > areas below and then followed by the medium gap filling variety. After > letting it set for 15 minutes I would hit it with activator. Strings back on > and up to pitch they came ... whoops many loose pins ... back on its back and > thin CA to the pins. I would fill the resivour with CA around the effected > pins and let it soak in. After ten minutes or so I pounded the pins in about > 2 mm and began to bring pitch up on the piano. Time and time again the pianos > would feel great and come right up to pitch. I was considered a miracle > doctor from the States. My contacts there started to receive calls from all > over the region for me to fix more pianos than my time would allow. I had > donated my trip and all my repair work to help the mission and those related > to the churches in that region and found it hard to turn down the other jobs > as desperate pleas began to pour in. > > I took one piano that was at a kids camp. This piano was over 100 years old, > had candle stick holders and well you can imagine. No torque and playing the > piano you could not recognize any pitch. One finger chords throughout the > entire piano. The camp needed the piano desperately and so, again having > nothing to loose and everything to gain I began the treatment. First the > Bridge repairs with my trusted companion (CA) and then two applications of > the CA glue (in a well ventilated area) to the pin block. I let this soak in > for a few hours and then came back and pounded the pins in about three to > 4 mm. The action needed lots of work. Some repining, some new flanges. > Hammers were reshaped and then reregulated. Bushings were attended to and > etc. After some twelve or so hours of work I was on the third pitch raise > and to my amazement we started to have a wonderful sounding piano. The area > outside the chapel was beginning to have quite the crowd as they could not > believe the piano that had rotted in that church was coming back to life. I > saw tears in the eyes of the local manager as I played "It is Well With MY > Soul." What a powerful moment ... no Steinway "D" had ever sounded as good to > me as that piano did in that moment. They began to sing with me and I began > to weep as these people began to praise the Lord with the piano that was > declared dead time and time again. > > After coming back to reality I realized that I had come this far and that it > would be nice to voice the hammers that remained and make it as good as it > could be for them. Knowing I would not soon return I set out to voice it. > Needle here and there to even out tone and in the treble notes (the last five > or so) I had not brought any juice. Yes, you guessed it ... I did bring my > miracle juice. I remembered someone on the list saying they had voiced #88 > with thin CA glue and it helped so I tried it on my last note #85 in this > case. It worked wonders on the tone and so I went down to about four more > notes. I had a crisp treble and a round bass and was so satisfied with the > results. The last night there, we heard the Junior Church Musicians perform > with the piano and choir. I have video proof of a miracle. What a joy to > see all the people of that area smile and thank me for giving them something > they could never afford on their own. Many make less than $200 a month US. > > We were able to purchase two pianos for needy families while there. I found > a Yamaha M1 for just $670 US. Wow, wish I could do that here. The other > piano was an Otto Bach. Music will fill the air in Namibia. > > I replaced lots of bass strings and believe it or not I had brought all the > sizes that were needed. Brian had offered to get me any I needed and as it > turned out the universals I had worked in all cases. The pianos were old and > the universals worked out great. > > When I went to the coastal region the problems were different. No cracks in > the bridges just corrosion to the max. This is a region where even stainless > steel rusts. I repined and repaired when I could. Lots of loose pins and > lots more CA treatments to follow. > > I had a wonderfully exhausting time in a beautiful country. Saw all the > wildlife you could imagine there after staying one night at a game reserve. > The sunsets were incredible. God's handiwork everywhere. Any questions > about the trip are welcomed. > > Special thanks to Brian for helping me pass the time after such a long flight > over. I enjoyed meeting one of our dear friends over seas. This list is a > global piano wonder. Thanks to all for your support and thanks to those who > prayed for my safe return. > > Ed Tomlinson > Piano missionary =) Ed Tomlinson Cascade Piano Piano Sales/Piano Technician
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC