Funny how fiction often becomes fact. I made the exact same diagnosis and repairs on a piano just last week. Ladybugs often cause this problem and a warm blanket will drive them out. I think I learned that from Randy Potter in a "Getting the Bugs Out" workshop. One thing, though: Most ladybugs don't actually have the strength to push up piano lids by themselves; they must use a tiny little hydraulic jack or get a gentlemanbug to help out. Alan Barnard Salem, MO -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On Behalf Of Paul Mulik Sent: Monday, May 19, 2003 8:58 AM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Kids' cartoon I thought I'd share this humorous story with all of you; forgive me if it's been discussed before. Those of you with small kids may be familiar with an animated TV show called "Oswald the Octopus" (it's one of my daughter's favorites). In the episode that aired yesterday, entitled "Fixing the Piano," Oswald's upright had a note that wouldn't play properly, so Oswald decided to take his piano to "the piano doctor." Apparently in Oswald's city, piano technicians don't make house calls. The problem was that when he played a certain key, two notes sounded (apparently the result of a misaligned hammer -- actually, to achieve the desired sound, the show's music editor simply played two adjacent keys simultaneously -- but I digress). Oswald called his friend Henry the Penguin to help him, but the piano was too heavy for them to move. They solved this problem by putting roller skates under it (they had no difficulty lifting it straight up to get the skates underneath). After getting sidetracked several times, Oswald finally got the piano to the piano doctor (a bunny rabbit) who listened to the problem and attempted to fix it by placing a large Band-Aid on the cabinet. When that didn't work, he deduced that the instrument must have had a "chill," which he tried to remedy by covering the keyboard with a blanket, but as luck would have it, that didn't work either. Turns out the problem was caused by a ladybug that had gotten inside the cabinet. Finally, the ladybug pushed up the lid and flew out, and all was well. Paul Mulik Joplin, MO _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC