[pianotech] How do you ladies do it?

[Dean May]

CLARIFICATION POST

 

 

This reminds me of what happened to me today that I have wanted to discuss
before, but always forget.

 

On a piano I service regularly (for several years now) at a school, it sits
on a stage dolly that supports it on the bottom board. The weight of the
piano has caused the bottom board to bow up to the extent that it is now
impossible to remove the KICK PANEL bottom board without first removing the
screws and spring first, then the top of the KICK PANEL board scrapes the
bottom of the keybed as you remove it. I have to do this every year to this
piano as it has a Life Saver system installed. 

 

I've seen similar things happen on similar dollies. Pianos were designed to
be supported at the point of the castors. If you are going to recommend a
stage dolly for a vertical piano, please recommend one that supports that
piano where it was designed to be supported. Otherwise in a few years you'll
likely encounter regulation problems, cabinet separation and perhaps even
trouble removing the bottom board. And if you recommended and installed the
dolly, guess who gets the blame? 

 

These kinds of problems will likely get worse and worse as manufacturers
continue to cost reduce and cut corners, making cabinets even less rigid.  

Dean

Dean May             cell 812.239.3359 

PianoRebuilders.com   812.235.5272 

Terre Haute IN  47802

 

  _____  

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of wimblees at aol.com
Sent: Thursday, August 20, 2009 8:16 PM
To: Pianotech at PTG.org
Subject: [pianotech] How do you ladies do it?

 

How do you take off the bottom panel when there are 2 springs holding the
thing in place? I've got a big wing span, and strong thumbs, but sometimes
that's not enough to push up the springs and remove the board at the same
time, especially when the springs are rusty, which most of them are here in
Hawaii. Up to now I push up on one, and pull the board towards me a little,
and then try to push up the other side. But I wonder if there is another way
to do this. This is not to imply that this has to do with you ladies being
the "weaker" sex, but most of you are not as big as I am and don't have the
wing span.  

Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Mililani, Oahu, HI
808-349-2943
Author of: 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com

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