[pianotech] another old PSO

[Michael Magness]

On Wed, Sep 1, 2010 at 5:55 PM, Paul T Williams <pwilliams4 at unlnotes.unl.edu
> wrote:

> Hi all,
>
> Just went to a usual customer with a beautiful 9'2" Bluthner at a church -
> 3 years old which I love to take care of.  the pastor's sister asked me to
> check out her DH Baldwin about 25 years old and its a POS or PSO as you may
> wish to term it.  She is willing to spend thousands on it rather than
> getting a new piano as $4-5K is better than $15K for  a new PSO.
>
> What do I tell her?.  Its a DH Baldwin, somebody filed the hammers off
> flat, somebody else ruined the shanks, the hammer bushings are shot, it
> barely plays, etc.
>
> Is it toast, or would $4-5K fix it if she reallyy wants to keep this thing
> as she's very attached to it? The geometry is way out, and you know....it's
> a mid '80's Samick.  I didn't check the action brackets, or anything
> really...I just wanted to leave! I just looked for free and told her I would
> get back to her with some good techs in the not so near area (there are
> none) that might have time to do this sort of thing.  I'm too busy at UNL to
> handle this sort of thing, and our director would not look nicely on my
> bringing in a "stray" piano from the wilderness unless.......$$$$$ donated
> to the SOM (maybe then, so) this is an "In Shop" project, to be sure.
>
> Is it worth it? Believe me the Bluthner is my favorite in NE!  If you were
> a mechanic working on Fords, would you drive 1.5 hours to work on a Ferrari?
> what a fantasic piano! I LOVE working on this piano. It's my favorite in the
> state! It might truely be the best piano in NE.
>
> Best, Paul


I wouldn't write this piano off, Samick made a decent piano in the '80's.
Let's look at it another way if it were a S&S with these problems would you
be questioning the work? Perhaps for this customer it's the equivilant.
So you replace shanks/flanges, upgrade the hammers(I like Abel lites on
small grands like this)
I doubt the geometry is off by that much once all the new parts are in
place, bush keys, regulate & for 4 or 5 grand, maybe less, she'll be
thrilled & you'll be a hero
If you can't do it, farm it out.

I have done this same rehab on small Kimball grands, Ivers & Pond, Yamaha,
Packard & others, in fact the Kimballs & Packard had pear shaped knuckles &
I converted them to standard knuckles. 2 of them have the new WNG carbon
fiber shanks & flanges.

Mike

-- 

It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without
accepting it.

    Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC)

Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike at ifixpianos.com
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