single spoon or backcheck wire installation

[Dave Nereson]

----- Original Message ----- 
From: "gordon stelter" <lclgcnp@yahoo.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, July 10, 2004 5:11 AM
Subject: Re: single spoon or backcheck wire installation


> Maybe the wippens for the bass and treble were
> switched ??? The spoons go in opposite directions,
> sometimes.
>      Thump

    No, the bass had the type of spoons that are inserted in the middle of
the wippen tail, but are bent around in a half-circle, leaving clearance for
a screwdriver, like on some old Steinways (and others).  It also had action
bracket knobs with 1 1/4" long threaded screws that took many many turns to
undo, and no slot in the knob for a screwdriver!  The sticker rail was in
front of, not behind the stickers, with the flanges facing front.  This was
the same piano where the main action rail had been shimmed almost 1/4"
toward the strings with thick front rail cardboard punchings.  It's a Camp
(built by Estey; never seen one before), apparently (according to Pierce
atlas) from 1889, but action and rest of piano don't look quite that old,
stylewise.  Key #33 had the numbers stamped upside down.  Maybe it was
Friday night and they had already started hittin' the sauce.  'Course in
those days, many workers worked on Saturday, too, and Friday night was no
special occasion for beer -- they drank on the job every day!  One builder
even claimed he built his best pianos while drunk -- I think that might've
been in a recent PTG Journal article.
-- David Nereson, RPT