Hi All, How timely, I am building a beam/shelf today which will hold my hoist. Same one Tom Cole linked to: http://www.harborfreight.com/cpi/ctaf/Displayitem.taf?itemnumber=44006 Also, after seeing Christian Bolduc's cool plate puller clamp, (Pianotek Catalog, pg D-35 part #B-GP32) I dispensed with the strap system. Engine hoist with hand crank and straps does work of course. But, this system saves time and will help prevent plate 'dings' on the inner rim as it goes in and out several times. Anything to simplify the process. Speaking of the inner rim... Does anyone have a reuseable system for protecting rim and stretcher during rebuilding? I envision pieces of leather & sturdy cardboard, in sections that will accommodate different piano rims. Best regards, Brad Smith, RPT Smith Piano Services 800-964-TUNE (8863) Toll Free 603-625-4696 in New Hampshire 483 Donald Street Bedford, NH 03110 brad@smithpiano.com NEW!! 24/7 Online Appointment Scheduling www.smithpiano.com -----Original Message----- From: Terry [mailto:terry@farrellpiano.com] Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 6:25 AM To: Pianotech Subject: Re: Pulling Plates You know, now that you mention it, after I had the plate refinished, I would first wrap an old (clean) rag around the strut first, and then wrap the nylon strap around that. Oops, scrap the nylon thing - I see now they are polyester (I'm looking at one). They are 1-inch wide and 4-feet long. They have a vertical capacity of 1,600 lbs. They have big loops at each end. I purchased them at Wholesale Tool http://www.wttool.com/ . Originally, I used three of these straps only and hooked them into my ceiling-mounted chain-fall. I would have to manually try to adjust their positions to get an even lift - very less than optimal. After picking up some ideas from this list, I am now using two adjustable straps between the polyester strap on the plate and the hook of the chain-fall (I use the adjustable thing on the two front straps and simply run the rear strap full-length directly from the plate to the chain-fall hook - no adjustment). The adjustable straps I am using are rather light-duty (I seem to recall a breaking strength of around 400 lbs. - arguably somewhat marginal strength) and do not have a ratchet, but rather a simply thumb-controlled hold-clamp-apparatus (it's actually a thingee) - it has never slipped (yeah, I know what you are thinking - me too!). Very quick to adjust and easily get a nice even lift. When I see something similar, but with higher breaking strength, in a tool store, I will pick those up and switch to something with a greater weight rating. If anyone wishes for a picture, I would be happy to take one and send it your way. I've got a plate hanging in mid-air as we speak! Terry Farrell www.farrellpiano.com ----- Original Message ----- From: "John Musselwhite" <john@musselwhite.com> To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org> Sent: Thursday, December 09, 2004 1:15 AM Subject: RE: Pulling Plates > At 11:19 PM 12/08/04 -0500, Chuck wrote: > > >I've been wrapping a thick, soft, nylon strap around struts, capo, > >etc. for lifting. > > > > > >Where you find this kind of strap Terry? How thick, how wide? > > One suggestion might be used auto seat belts since you can probably > get them for free. I'd still pad them around the plate though. If you > don't trust the quick release you could always sew D-rings or > something into them. > > As for something other than a rafter or engine hoist to hang your seat > belts (and chain fall) from to lift out the plate, has anyone ever > tried using a modified child's outdoor swing set? You could probably > pick up a well-built old one for next-to-nothing and if you cleaned it > up, added some > decent bolts and cut the cross-tube down to the width of a piano it > should be plenty strong enough for a plate. If you needed to you could > even sister > a couple of 2x4s to reinforce the crossbar and add blocks under the > legs if > it isn't high enough. > > John > > John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada > http://www.musselwhite.com http://canadianpianopage.com/calgary > Pianotech IRC chats Tuesday and Thursday nights and Sunday Mornings > http://www.bigfoot.com/~kmvander/ircpiano.html > > > _______________________________________________ > pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives _______________________________________________ pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC