Odd that this post came up today. I just spent two days with a 1926 Hamilton that does not have any tilt-out options. A wing nut and bracket holds down each end of the top assembly; three small tubes and one large one have to be removed; the speed control linkage unhooked, then the whole top comes out including a triple deck set of bellows that engage metal fingers on each sticker. It's not too bad a job but it is quite heavy and has all those fragile looking parts that make it kind of scary to deal with, n'est ce pas? This is all in a senior residence center so I had plenty of onlookers with questions! This piano had been refurbished——hammer alignment & regulation apparently NOT included in the job——but the pinblock was not good. Some stings waaaaay flat and most at least 135 cents flat. I pumped in 7 oz. of CA yesterday. Today I chipped it up 10 cents over, than did an ETD pitch raise and two fine tuning passes. Slapped in a few player rolls and let her rip. They loved it. Staff and residents all gathered around and we had a good time. Nice to do some work that has real, immediate, and appreciated results. Alan R. Barnard Salem, MO -----Original Message----- From: D.L. Bullock [mailto:dlbullock@att.net] Sent: Friday, July 16, 2004 11:10 AM To: PTG; Tom Driscoll Subject: Tuning old upright players Since you are not a player tech, perhaps I should let you in on some secrets to tuning them. They are often designed for the head of the player (spoolbox, windmotor, tracker, and everything mounted on the long top board) to fold down. Gulbransens, have two thumbscrews at the ends you loosen and it all folds forward. There is even an expandable bracket attached to the plate to hold it up. Amphion and Ampico systems will also fold down in a similar way. You only need something to prop the spoolbox on while it is down. Several others have this arrangement as well. If they do not have this-- like the Standard systems, you can remove the player with four screws at the bass end and one long one going down at the treble end. Or you may remove only the wind motor for better access. Or you could find a local player tech and send him all your player tunings. That way he can take care of the player as well since they need occasional tweaking which is best done with a tuning. I refer, of course to players that have been correctly restored. If they have not been restored correctly, then they are nothing but trouble. I restore players so that I don't have to constantly go out for service. Since I give a 5 year warranty on the player, I want to make sure I don't have to make many warranty calls. I only go out on about one in three players but often the warranty call is just reminding the customer how this or that works. It is best when I tune and check out the player regularly. About every two or three years I have to spend 15 minutes tweaking the player, but I check it with every tuning. Oh, should you ever be required to regulate or repair the action on a Duo Art grand (with the roll above the keys), don't bother unless you take a real player tech (preferably a Duo Art man) with you. It takes me about 45 minutes to extricate the action for work on a Duo Art. There is lots of stuff to break. These are found in Steinway, Weber, Steck, Stroud, AEolian. There were a very small number of Duo Arts built into a drawer after 1932. They are same as normal pianos to get to the action. D.L. Bullock St. Louis www.thepianoworld.com --- Incoming mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.719 / Virus Database: 475 - Release Date: 07/12/2004 --- Outgoing mail is certified Virus Free. Checked by AVG anti-virus system (http://www.grisoft.com). Version: 6.0.719 / Virus Database: 475 - Release Date: 07/12/2004
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