[pianotech] Falling piano lid (was fallen piano)

[Laura Olsen]

A lot of my upright mute handles have been donated to the cause until I can get a proper sized hinge pin. LaRoy Edwards teaches the wiggle technique when he demonstrates how much you can learn about the  piano from just touching it.   (Of course he probably borrowed that from Wally. )<g>
I found a hinge pin missing with this technique just yesterday. 

Laura 

On Oct 13, 2011, at 12:58 PM, David Stanwood wrote:

> Hi Wally,
> 
> Anyone who attended North Bennet St. School under Bill Garlick as I did well remembers the story he told every class about the piano tuner in an expensive apartment on 5th Avenue who lifted a Steinway B lid prior to tuning in a wealthy clients home.  It slipped off the hinges and smashed through a plate glass window and fell to the street.  He taught us to lift the lid and move it side to side to check that hinge pins are in place.  That story made a permanent impression on me.
> 
> David Stanwood
> 
>> Date: Thu, 13 Oct 2011 04:36:55 -0700 (PDT)
>> From: Wally Scherer <afinetune at yahoo.com>
> 
> 
>> I've had several instances where grand lids were not attached and no one
>> bothered to tell me. Now I wiggle it a bit from side to side as I lift it a
>> couple of inches, before lifting it up all the way. I keep some hinge pins in
>> my tool bag. Sometimes they have to be bent a bit for a tighter fit. In the
>> absence of a proper hinge pin, the customer may have a nail that will work.
> 
>> However, as I think about it, a visual check beforehand would be better, right?
> 
>> Wally