single spoon or backcheck wire installation

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Joseph Garrett" <joegarrett@earthlink.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, July 06, 2004 11:15 AM
Subject: Re: single spoon or backcheck wire installation


> Dave Nereson said: " How do y'all usually install just one new backcheck
> wire or spoon?  I've
> done it before but it's been awhile, and if there's an easier, better way,
I
> couldn't think of it last night."
>
> David,
> You got started in the right direction, but then you took a hard left
> turn!<G> My preferred way is to grip the spoon or backcheck wire with vise
> grips and THEN use my hammer extracting tool to extract the part. Most
> usually, the part comes out cleanly and you can install a new one.
Sometimes
> the hole is a bit over-size, so a dab of epoxy or CA is used. K?
> Best Regards,
> Joe Garrett, RPT, (Oregon)
> Captain, Tool Police
> Squares Are I

    No, see, the spoons were wrongly installed on the wrong side of the
wippen, crossing over the flange screw.  Any wippen flange I tried to
unscrew was hell because the spoon wouldn't clear the screwdriver.  I tried
bending the spoon out of the way and the wippen split.  Then I realized I
should have held it with the parallel pliers while bending.  The spoonless
wippens in the high treble, however, had holes drilled on the correct side
of the wippen.  I don't know why.  So I switched the wippen that broke where
the spoon enters the wood with a "good" one from the high treble.  Getting
the spoon out was no problem -- in fact, it was already out because it broke
off of the wippen with a little piece of wood.  The wippen was still usable
in the high treble where there are no dampers.  But I had to now install the
spoon into the wippen with the (pre-drilled) hole on the correct side.
    This is in the home.  No vise on the workbench.  This is an old piano.
If you just drive a spoon into the hole, the wippen will split.  Well, I
figured it out -- carry a small C-clamp or machinist's clamp to clamp the
wippen tail on either side so it can't split.
    But backchecks that break their threaded portion of the wire in the
wippen are different.  You don't try to extract that part.  You leave it in
and drill a new hole.  Then -- same problem as with the spoon.  Ya gotta
clamp it somewhere, or to something, so it's supported on both sides and
can't split.  I guess you have to find someplace you can clamp it, or carry
a spare block of hardwood, or use your voicing block, and carry a small
clamp.  Then you need a surface you can pound against while you drive the
new backcheck wire in -- with ViseGrips, I guess -- is that how it's done,
or is there another way I don't know about?  (No drill press or arbor press
out in the car).  I guess the keyslip can be removed so the keybed can be
used as a "bench", or remove a few keys and use the hardwood front rail, or
the top of the pinblock if it's not nicely finished.
    I ended up doing it after much pondering and on-the-spot creativity -- 
but just wondered what everyone else did.  --David Nereson