Heimlich this Henry F. Miller

[David Love]

Have you totally ruled out the hammers?

David Love


----- Original Message -----
From: "Nichols" <nicho@lascruces.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: July 28, 2001 4:51 PM
Subject: Heimlich this Henry F. Miller


> Hi,
>          Wondering if anybody has any ideas on opening-up the tone on a
> 1900 Henry F. Miller 5'7" that I encountered today. It's a massive thing,
> with a "full perimeter" style plate, so wide in the tail that it's almost
> square, no capo, and aggraffes for all 88. You know the one.
>          From C5 on up it sounds like it's choking to death, and my guess
> is that the board is overloaded. I didn't run out in the drizzle to get my
> bubble gauge, but the rocker gauge indicated lots of bearing. Hard to tell
> about the crown in that section, for various reasons, other than it's not
> reversed.
>          The way this plate is built, I had the thought that maybe I could
> just ease up on the plate a little. There are strut bolts just aft of
where
> the capo would cross-connect if it existed, one strut bolt where the upper
> bass strut crosses the tenor, one slotted nut in the webbing amongst the
> hitch pins around B6 (+/-), and plenty of nice big perimeter bolts. The
> struts are battleship size, and the sound port area is almost filled in
> with webbing. Thing must weigh half a ton!
>          I was able to check a twin (serial #'s within a year) that has a
> great tone, and the bearing was very positive, but not as pronounced as
the
> choked-up piano.
>          Down-pitching, unhooking, and de-pinning so I could plane the
> bridge is an option, of course, but I thought I'd check the experience of
> this esteemed group first.
>
>          Thanks in advance,
>
> Guy Nichols, RPT
>
>
>
>
> "I merely took the energy it takes to pout and wrote some blues."
>     -- Duke Ellington, when asked his response to racial discrimination
>