I worked on a (1920's?) 6'8""Gerold" grand piano years ago that had this wippen/lever/knuckle arrangement. The action was marked "Schwander". The action worked well, but because of wear on the lever leather and the need for new hammers and shanks, I removed the lever and went with a conventional knuckle arrangement. I remember being elated that I didn't have to make many changes in the action as I was able to get get knuckles that were the same height as the levers I removed. Mark Wisner the >From: "Clark A. Sprague" <csprague4 at woh.rr.com> >Sent: Nov 25, 2010 8:49 PM >To: pianotech at ptg.org >Subject: [pianotech] A.B.Chase Grand Piano > >Happy Thanksgiving to one and all. We all have something to be thankful >for. These pictures are from the 1890-95 A.B. Chase that I just bought >(serial #31241). This beast is Victorian style, rosewood case (needs veneer >repairs), 7 ½ feet long. The things I noticed were: the beams underneath >are MASSIVE, and look like oak, the belly rail looks like oak too. The >inner and outer rim are MASSIVE, and it has a beam that runs cross-wise >across the width of the piano, about at the midpoint of the soundboard. The >thing has 15 ribs under the board, in a straight array. The pictures of the >knuckle and whippen are an arrangement I have never seen before. Has >anybody else seen this? The knuckle is a wooden hump under the shank, and >the interface on the whippen is another lever, on the top of the repetition >lever, and the jack lines up underneath that. Does anyone have an idea what >that was all about? I looked at the bridges, no apparent cracks, and the >treble bridge is fairly straight, without any really apparent doglegs. I >think this could be rebuilt and be a whopper piano for someone? Anybody out >there interested? I havent moved it yet, and dont have any more pictures >at this time. More to come soon, upon request. > > > >Clark A. Sprague, RPT > >csprague4 at woh.rr.com > > > > > > >
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