[pianotech] The case of the missing bridle straps!

[pianolover 88]

Yeah, luckily the square grommets are in great condition and seem like new, as does the rest of the piano, in and out. I used my spinet four part steel rod screw-together thingy to remove the action, which was quite easy. 


Terry "UniGeezer" Peterson
"Over 50, and not '2' Tired!" 
www.unigeezer.com


Date: Sun, 11 Mar 2012 18:56:05 -0700
From: normancantrell at sbcglobal.net
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [pianotech] The case of the missing bridle straps!

The Schafer and Sons spinet was the stencil variety of the classic Whitney spinet made by Kimball.  By creating a piano without bridle wires and brildle straps they kept the price competitive.  (Similar cost saving engineering that gave us the Baldwin verticals without a complete bridle wire loop) New springs is the way to go despite the hassle of pulling this particular action.  Depending on the climate you may encounter some of the famous "square grommets" that were discussed a couple of weeks ago.  Replacing a set of springs has been the subject of a few Journal articles.  I believe Martin Wisenbaker authored at least one of these.  If you get the new DVD of Journal Reprint from the Home Office you can find them without having to wade through your exquisitely archived past Journals neatly shelved and
 cataloged.
Norman Cantrell

--- On Sun, 3/11/12, John Ross <jrpiano at bellaliant.net> wrote:

From: John Ross <jrpiano at bellaliant.net>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] The case of the missing bridle straps!
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Sunday, March 11, 2012, 8:39 PM

Make sure to remove any felt that might be touching or in proximity to the coil of the spring.In the 70's there were a lot of hammer return springs that corroded through.I replaced one set, and they went again.It appears that the felt that was used wasn't 'flushed' properly, and was acidic to the wire, and they corroded.I removed the felt and the second set worked.Might have been a Pratt Read action on a Lowery piano, but it was a while ago and I can't
 be sure.John Ross,Windsor, Nova Scotia
On 11-03-2012, at 9:55 PM, pianolover 88 wrote:Got a client with a 70's schafer & sons spinet. Looks like new having had little use, but many hammers won't return, and at first I thought the pinning was too tight, and/or just sluggish from non use and excess humidity, but then I noticed that there are NO bridle wires/straps at all. I've seen a few spinets without them before, but not very often. Any advice
 on getting the hammers to return, short of retro-fitting a whole new set of bridle wires and straps? I thought maybe strengthening the hammer springs and appling protek to all the centers might help as well.  What's funny is that the whips have the little holes where they would go, but they were never installed at the factory. 

Thanks,

Terry "UniGeezer" Peterson
"Over 50, and not '2' Tired!" 
www.unigeezer.com
 		 	   		  
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