Matthew,
You have gotten a lot of good advice to your question. I'll go ahead and
add my two cents worth.
As has been mentioned, if you can duplicate the distance between the elbow's
contact with the center pin on the wippen and the regulating button on the
other end of the wire, you will save yourself quite a bit of time with the
regulating after the installation.
Even at my somewhat advanced age, I get on the floor and do this job in
the home, using the Vagias snap-on elbows.
1. I put a sheet or towels down on the floor and inside the piano bottom to
catch as much of the debris as possible.
2. I break off the old, brittle elbows with my needle-nose pliers. Most of
the elbows will crush or shatter easily. If some part of the elbow doesn't
break easily, I hold it with my pliers and tug gently while heating the
elbow with my heat gun. It doesn't take but a few seconds before the rest
of the elbow will melt enough to easily pull off the center pin.
WARNING: Be careful to not damage the pin or break out the sides of the
wippen. While you are crushing pieces of the elbow, the material can spread
out and push against the sides of the wippen. While you are pulling or
crushing the elbow pieces, work carefully and you will avoid trouble.
3. I take each elbow out in order and lay them on the floor beside me, in
order. Then, like others have suggested, I clamp my vice grip pliers on the
wire at the top of the old elbow, break off whatever remains of the old
elbow, and screw on the new elbow until it butts up against the vice grips.
This only take seconds, and the vice grips can make a nice handle to twirl
of spin the wire into the new elbow.
4. Put each new elbow/wire assembly back on in the same order. This
minimizes regulation at the end of the job. I work by sections, bass,
tenor, treble. Finish one section and then go to the next.
WARNING: When snapping the new elbow onto the center pin, reach behind
the wippen and support it with a finger of the other hand against the
pressure of the elbow snapping on. This is especially important if the
wippen flanges might be plastic of the same vintage (Unless you are ready to
sell that job, too.)
5. When all the elbows have been replaced, regulate the jack position under
the butts by adjusting the button on the end of the sticker wire. Check
other regulation items, then tune or collect your check for this job.
6. BE SURE to clean up after yourself when this job is done. Bring in
your vacuum, and clean out the inside of the piano, AND the floor outside
the piano.
As someone mentioned, this job is coming up less frequently than in the
past. Eventually, all these old plastic elbows will get replaced or the
pianos with them will get tossed.
This job takes me about two to two and a half hours. You may be quicker
than I am because you are young and limber.
Good luck.
Hope to see you at the next chapter meeting.
Claude Harding
_____
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Matthew Todd
Sent: Wednesday, February 04, 2009 5:52 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Elbow Replacement (quick question)
When screwing on the new elbows, do we normally screw till the elbow just
covers the threads on the lifter wire, or do we screw until the lifter wire
is all the way down in the hole?
OR, does it not matter?
TODD PIANO WORKS
Matthew Todd, Piano Technician
(979) 248-9578
http://www.toddpianoworks.com <http://www.toddpianoworks.com/>
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