Chickering console

[John Formsma]

I'm trying to visualize this...hard without a photo.

But I'd say generally to remove all the parts from the rail so you can
clamp effectively. It shouldn't take all that long to do really. You'd
have a couple of trips, though.

One thing I can visualize (because I'm such a klutz and tend to invite
disaster <grin>) is when you get glue in there having to quickly
remove wippens and dampers because glue is dripping on them. I kinda
like to avoid all that.

What you can do after the repair is to put some kind of "stop" under
the sustain pedal. This will prevent it from happening again. I'm not
sure what is the best thing to use, but I've used a chunk of hammer
felt scrap. Or, a block of wood with felt glued on it would work.

JF

On 7/16/07, Richard Morgan <rsanbornmorgan at yahoo.com> wrote:
>
> Here's an interesting problem:  a 1958-59 Chickering console presented with
> a non-functioning sustain pedal.  Upon opening the piano, I noticed the
> right-hand side of the action would rise when the pedal was pressed.
> Removing the action revealed that the sticker/action rail was split,
> probably for about 10 inches, and probably (according to the church's choir
> director) from too-aggressive pedalling.
>
> Without removing dampers/wippens for better access, I think I can inject
> (very carefully, to avoid squeeze-out!) into the length of the split, use a
> c-clamp around the top of the rail and the wippen flanges (again, very
> carefully, to close the split without putting too much pressure on, and
> perhaps using a paint stick or some such between the clamp and the wippen
> flanges to distribute the pressure), then use a 4x3/4 screw in the available
> right end, to mechanically close the split, along with the glue.  I wish
> there were room to put in another screw. . .
>
> Without removing parts, which I don't really want to do, and which would
> turn it into a bigger job than the church will be willing to contemplate (or
> am I being foolish?), this is all I can come up with.  The choir director is
> really interested in buying a grand for the sanctuary, so is not really
> interested in spending much.  Otherwise this piano is in really good
> condition, and seems like a pretty decent specimen.
>
> So, what do you think?  Will this be an effective repair?  Should I just
> bite the bullet and take some parts off for better access?  What would be
> the prognosis for any kind of repair for this problem?
>
> I'm thinking of charging for a 3-4 hour job, including today's visit.
>
> Thanks for your advice.
>
> Richard Morgan
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