[pianotech] Rugged Rachals

[Al Guecia/AlliedPianoCraft]

Third option: When you remove the metal shim, clean the hole and apply ca 
glue with a cotton swab. Let it dry, and you should be able to use the same 
tuning pin for uniformity.

Al



--------------------------------------------------
From: "John Ross" <jrpiano at win.eastlink.ca>
Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 8:09 AM
To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Rugged Rachals

> That metal shim is a product that was/is sold by the supply houses to
> tighten up a loose pin.
> Remove it and use a larger pin, or veneer shim.
> They are a useless product, and should not be sold.
> John Ross
> Windsor, Nova Scotia
> ----- Original Message ----- 
> From: <david at piano.plus.com>
> To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Wednesday, May 06, 2009 6:22 AM
> Subject: [pianotech] Rugged Rachals
>
>
> Yesterday I tuned a piano rescued from a local church which closed when
> the congregation amalgamated with another. I last tuned it about 20 years
> ago in the church hall and was a little intrigued by it then.
>
> It's a Rachals from about 1899 (number 9522 I think), 'ruggedised' for
> India. It's 56" high with a big powerful sound.  It's really a  candidate
> for a full restoration, but the owners have been spending a lot of money
> restoring their old brownstone type apartment.
>
> The pics show some of the extra features, like the pinned key bushings,
> and the double hammer staples.  The plate is angled back at the top.
>
> One pin was very loose and would not hammer further into the block. I
> removed it to fit a shim, and on peering into the hole with a flashlight,
> it seems to be lined with a copper or bronze (or other metal) tube, with a
> closed or almost-closed end, like a miniature cigar tube.  I only removed
> this one tuning pin and it had evidently had work before, as the string
> had only one coil.  So I don't know whether the metal tube was a previous
> shim or if they all have them.  Has anyone heard of pnblocks being fitted
> with metal 'sleeves' as part of ruggedising the construction for extreme
> climates?
>
> The construction throughout is prettty massive. The capstan wires are
> 4.02mm  diameter, for example.  But curiously, there is evidence of a flaw
> at manufacture. The top of the capstans bear on the very edge of the
> wippen felt and in fact with the note depressed, the capstans are partly
> off the felt.
>
> I'm sory the pics aren't great, as I only had my cellphone camera.
>
>
>