fixing clicking knuckles

David Ilvedson ilvey at sbcglobal.net
Fri Jul 4 23:52:38 MDT 2008


Well, unless you repin one, you'll never know...I tend to think when a knuckle is getting flattened out etc. the shanks need replacing.   You mentioned the pinning problems...So, I'd probably try bolstering as a temporary repair after letting the customer know the right way to fix the problem and the price difference, which I realize is a fair amount...at least they have the options laid for them...

Hard knuckles make a lot of noise...



David Ilvedson, RPT

Pacifica, CA 94044









Original message

From: "holly quigley" 

To: pianotech at ptg.org

Received: 7/4/2008 8:09:55 PM

Subject: Re: fixing clicking knuckles





I did think about the pinning - it's inconsistent and I intend to remedy that. But, the fact that some of the clickers have five swings and some have nine in them I think eliminates that blame. 

And the knuckles were actually a spongy deformed flattened mess with the buckskin gapping way away when I squeezed 'em. Just as a point of future reference, when you say "hard," is it a brittle feeling across the surface of the knuckle? Because new knuckles are quite firm and tight feeling - I don't know if I've come across hardened knuckles yet.

Thanks,

Holly



---------- Forwarded message ----------

From: "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net>

To: pianotech at ptg.org

Date: Fri, 4 Jul 2008 19:11:47 -0700

Subject: RE: fixing clicking knuckles



"Shanks still attached to the action"....check your pinning on the clickers...hot hide glue or titebond trim and molding would be a better choice...you don't need much glue, especially if you have a good fit...

Question:   you were changing the knuckles because the old ones were hard?    



David Ilvedson, RPT

Pacifica, CA 94044













Original message

From: "holly quigley"  

To: pianotech at ptg.org

Received: 7/4/2008 4:58:56 PM 

Subject: fixing clicking knuckles





Well, I guess I screwed up. I installed a new set of knuckles on a piano, and now several of them click. I did some archive research and verified that the source of my clicking is very likely that the outside of the knuckles got glued just fine, but the cores lost contact with the base of the slots in the course of the glue drying. I'm pretty disgusted and frustrated with myself, and trying to just move forward proactively to get the job done right. My question for the list is, what is the best way to fix this? What I think happened is that in the course of installing the knuckles, I had them pressed into the slots clean and snug, but as I don't have a long term clamping system that won't distort the knuckles (does one exist, by the way?), as the glue dried the core pulled out of the slot slightly. (I did check the knuckles dry first, and the cores appeared to fit all the way in the slots, and were quite snug, before anyone asks) Should I try an expanding glue like Gorilla Glue here? Or go to CA glue which will hopefully dry faster? Or should I have just not pressed the knuckles so tightly that the (yellow) glue all slipped out of the slot? This isn't the first knuckle replacement I've done, but it's the first one I've done with the shanks still attached to the action.



It's times like this that I get overwhelmed by having learned enough early on that now I'm employed by a boss who speaks highly of me and puts me on jobs like this. Most of the time it's great, but I do miss the safety net of being under a wing. :(



Thanks in advance, and wishing everyone who's celebrating a happy Independence Day,

Holly Quigley 
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20080704/678f5417/attachment.html 


More information about the Pianotech mailing list

This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC