Every so often some newbie posts an inquiry about some fallboard or other component they can't figure out how to remove. Lo, I received my 25 year pin earlier this year, but I too am stumped, once again. Norris (Charles) was a small manufacturer in Boston, and I'm working on an early 20th c medium size (46"?) upright. I'm a bit confounded by some of their case assembly eccentricities. My description is also encumbered because these case parts are not described and named in Mason's "Piano Parts." The "top front panel" has pivot pins which slide into pivot plates recessed into the pillars on either side of the case. In this piano, these pillars are part of the case (not screwed in and separately removable, as in many full uprights). There is also a stretcher bar between the pillar tops, which the front edge of the lid rests upon. This stretcher is attached by screws to the pillars (in a rather difficult-to-access setup). After removing the screws, I was planning on lifting the stretcher out of the way (for unencumbered access to the tuning pins etc), but to my surprise the case and pillars have an inner flange which prevents lifting it out! For greater frustration, the fallboard also seems to have been installed by some wood workers who love puzzles -- I removed a few screws but it wouldn't budge. I encountered the piano in a rather sleep deprived state, but did manage to remove the action (it barely fit between the pillars) to the shop, to repair a shank, replace bridle straps, reduce flange friction (alcohol/water, CPL), etc. Nope, no pictures -- my Nikon 2500 is hiding somewhere around the house, so I finally bought a Canon A80 a couple days ago. Anyone in the Boston area recall running into this case assembly style? It does remind me of the days when there was a local high end furniture company, Paine Furniture, which offered custom cases on Baldwin consoles. Figuring out how to get into those cases as always a frustrating challenge! Patrick Draine
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