Pianotech

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Lift the trap work lever to isolate the noise. As to the tiny sounding notes, perhaps the new material on the end of the pedal rod is putting pressure on/shifting the action.

------------------------------
Regards,

Jon Page
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Mr.Kelly,

The most important thing to know about that Mason BB is that it's not a piano it's a love story. Marty and Fritzie had been married a good while before he made any real money. She made do with the console they could afford. One day some years on he was passing the local music store and as soon as he saw it he knew that he was going to buy it for her. It was cared for by our own Jim Beech RPT for years before moving to Florida where in the course of being re-finished it received a truly shameful restringing. I saw it for the first time a few years later and brother it was a mess. Fortunately I was inclined to listen to the two of them talk for a while before I started working that day. I realized right then that neither of them would ever really see the piano as it genuinely was because when they look at it all either of them can see is how it makes them feel about the other. Telling them about the problems with the instrument wasn't going to help me any and I'd rather set fire to my tuning hammer than tarnish in any way the idea they have of the piano they think they have. So I've tuned it as best I can, ( really shameful restringing) replaced the strings as they break and chased the myriad pedal squeaks where they lead but I've never forgotten that it's really not a piano. Now it's your turn. I really hope the squeak isn't the flanges that hold the tray to the belly rail. That cast iron trapwork could be an issue as well. The last one I worked on needed an hour on the concrete floor of my shop alternating between a blow torch, a ball peen hammer and a can of ballistol before it would work freely and quietly. The chopstick voicing should hopefully do the trick unless the pinging is the damper wires hitting the strings (seriously shameful restringing) or it could just be her hearing aids. Marty's a real mensch and will never have a problem paying you for your time. Just remember the piano you and I see and hear isn't the same one they're seeing and hearing. It's not a piano it's a love story. Protect that.

------------------------------
Karl Roeder
Pompano Beach FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Karl .. thank you for sharing and I totally get it. They are two wonderfull people and I know how much the piano means to them.

I will listen to her concerns and do what I can to reduce/eliminate the squeak or noises she hears. Hopefully I will have her able to show me
the notes that are an issue as well as observe how the pedal reacts. Can I find a fix ? I like a challenge and will do my best. The stringing is not so great in places but it is what it is. I took on a much neglected C7 in a church that became a real mission. So much noise coming out of the action -actually many noises disguised by other noises. I have at least worked on the pedal box and the lyre sticks so now it is time to move higher. The metal trap work is a different beast but may be part of the equation. I will do whatever I need to do to keep these folks happy and certainly not talk badly about the piano which is a huge part of their life. It certainly is a love story .  The piano is now in my custody and I am certainly glad they moved it back here to be with them.

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 19:15
From: Karl Roeder
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

Mr.Kelly,

The most important thing to know about that Mason BB is that it's not a piano it's a love story. Marty and Fritzie had been married a good while before he made any real money. She made do with the console they could afford. One day some years on he was passing the local music store and as soon as he saw it he knew that he was going to buy it for her. It was cared for by our own Jim Beech RPT for years before moving to Florida where in the course of being re-finished it received a truly shameful restringing. I saw it for the first time a few years later and brother it was a mess. Fortunately I was inclined to listen to the two of them talk for a while before I started working that day. I realized right then that neither of them would ever really see the piano as it genuinely was because when they look at it all either of them can see is how it makes them feel about the other. Telling them about the problems with the instrument wasn't going to help me any and I'd rather set fire to my tuning hammer than tarnish in any way the idea they have of the piano they think they have. So I've tuned it as best I can, ( really shameful restringing) replaced the strings as they break and chased the myriad pedal squeaks where they lead but I've never forgotten that it's really not a piano. Now it's your turn. I really hope the squeak isn't the flanges that hold the tray to the belly rail. That cast iron trapwork could be an issue as well. The last one I worked on needed an hour on the concrete floor of my shop alternating between a blow torch, a ball peen hammer and a can of ballistol before it would work freely and quietly. The chopstick voicing should hopefully do the trick unless the pinging is the damper wires hitting the strings (seriously shameful restringing) or it could just be her hearing aids. Marty's a real mensch and will never have a problem paying you for your time. Just remember the piano you and I see and hear isn't the same one they're seeing and hearing. It's not a piano it's a love story. Protect that.

------------------------------
Karl Roeder
Pompano Beach FL

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Try rotating the pedal rod. It may be slightly warped. This can cause a come and go squeak. So can 600 other things.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Update on Mason & Hamlin BB squeak.

  I returned today and checked things over including the tightness of the lyre and the lyre supports. There is no pitman dowel but there is a threaded rod that goes up through the keybed and attaches to the damper lift tray. I was getting squeak with the pedal rod out of the question. Pushing up on the metal trap piece and the attached rod created a squeak I proceeded to take some of the slack/lost motion out of it and the squeak stopped. A0 was jammed into B0 so I removed the fall board and the cheek blocks. The bass cheek block had to be pried out and it was then that I noticed a long plastic pen that was jammed and bent at one end pushing A0 to the right. Once removed the key was freed up. I touched up unisons from C5 to C8 and also found two notes not touching the right string. Respaced the hammers and touched up the right strings. While I had the action in my lab I tightened all of the screws on the action brackets which actually where loose.At the same time I worked the pedal up and down about 50 times and observed the travel of the connecting rod- no squeaks or binding at all. Put it all back together and the piano sounded great and the squeak was gone. I did rotate the pedal rod by the way but I think that taking out some of the lost motion as well as removing the twisted/jam pen had much to do with the problem.

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2018 07:50
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

Try rotating the pedal rod. It may be slightly warped. This can cause a come and go squeak. So can 600 other things.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------

Thank you Mr. Kelly,
I knew you were the right person for them to call. I have no knowledge of the pen in question. My name and business logo being printed on the side is purely a coincidence.

------------------------------
Karl Roeder
Pompano Beach FL
------------------------------

Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2018 21:37
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

Update on Mason & Hamlin BB squeak.

  I returned today and checked things over including the tightness of the lyre and the lyre supports. There is no pitman dowel but there is a threaded rod that goes up through the keybed and attaches to the damper lift tray. I was getting squeak with the pedal rod out of the question. Pushing up on the metal trap piece and the attached rod created a squeak I proceeded to take some of the slack/lost motion out of it and the squeak stopped. A0 was jammed into B0 so I removed the fall board and the cheek blocks. The bass cheek block had to be pried out and it was then that I noticed a long plastic pen that was jammed and bent at one end pushing A0 to the right. Once removed the key was freed up. I touched up unisons from C5 to C8 and also found two notes not touching the right string. Respaced the hammers and touched up the right strings. While I had the action in my lab I tightened all of the screws on the action brackets which actually where loose.At the same time I worked the pedal up and down about 50 times and observed the travel of the connecting rod- no squeaks or binding at all. Put it all back together and the piano sounded great and the squeak was gone. I did rotate the pedal rod by the way but I think that taking out some of the lost motion as well as removing the twisted/jam pen had much to do with the problem.

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357

Original Message:
Sent: 01-09-2018 07:50
From: Ed Sutton
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

Try rotating the pedal rod. It may be slightly warped. This can cause a come and go squeak. So can 600 other things.

------------------------------
Ed Sutton
ed440@me.com
(980) 254-7413

Original Message:
Sent: 01-08-2018 13:28
From: James Kelly
Subject: Pedal Squeaks- Mason & Hamlin BB

I am returning to a Mason & Hamlin BB to fix a squeak that has returned to a Mason & Hamlin . Before Christmas I thought I had resolved it since the squeaks seemed to be emanating from the pedal box. Removed the lyre from the piano to shops, took it apart, removed the hardened material in the pedal cups, put new buckskin in the cups and added rubber caps to the end of each pedal rod. Also put some felt on each end of the lyre support dowels. Checked the guide rail bushing and added some teflon. Noise was gone ... Got a call Friday it is squeaking again. I am thinking I should just pull the action and check the lift tray hangars, contact points, leathers/felts etc. The trap works are not the usual wooden configuration but are cast metal and very compactly placed just behind the top of the lyre. The connection for the sustain is a rod like do-dad very much like what is used on newer player systems to connect the pedal solenoid to the lift tray. The piano lived in CT for a long time, moved to Florida and is now in SC since the end of 2017.


 I checked the archives and found some suggestions but perhaps someone has a good tip to fix this once and for all. Of course it could be the angle of the players foot distorting things too. I have had the experience of not being able to re-create the squeak . I am inclined to think there are more dried out parts due to the various climates/ storage and transport issues the piano has endured.

On another note the owner is complaining of "tinny" sounds on notes. I detected some light rust/corrosion/oxidation on the strings but perhaps a little voicing with a chopstick tool is advised. what say ye

------------------------------
James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
------------------------------