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Treasures in pianos

  • 1.  Treasures in pianos

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-28-2008 08:47 
    From Israel Stein <custos3@comcast.net>

At 06:28 AM 2/28/2008, Paul T. Williams wrote:


>The coolest things I found in a piano was a 1905 Canadian penny (big 
>like a 50 cent piece and brass, I think) and a liberty dime.  pw

Then there are the tear-jerkers. One time inside an old upright 
belonging to an elderly lady I found an old photograph of a beautiful 
young woman (obviously herself years ago) with a man who appeared to 
be a "significant other". Or perhaps the "love interest of the 
moment"? Who knows. But she became visibly emotional when she saw it...

Sometimes the tears (of frustration?) are mine.There's the Stieff 
grand that I couldn't get the action out of for a long time - it just 
wouldn't move. I don't remember how I finally got it out - but it 
turned out that someone dropped a bunch of saltwater taffy into the 
keybed (in the treble, where there is a space between the strings and 
the rim). It melted and glued the keyframe to the keybed... Took a 
long time to scrape it all off..

Israel Stein


  • 2.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 09:17 
    From Martin Wisenbaker <mbjwisenbaker@juno.com>

The most exciting thing I have found in a piano was a nest of live mice.
It caused some excitement with the lady of the house and her teen aged
daughter.

Martin Wisenbaker, RPT
Houston, Texas


  • 3.  Treasures in pianos

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-28-2008 09:38 
    From reggaepass@aol.com

3)  An old wallet with long-lost pictures of the client (now a mother) when she and her sister were kids



2)  several hundred dollars cash put in the action of a grand (through the treble strings) by a woman who didn't want her gambling-addicted husband to find it, and




1)  the remnants of a hand rolled cigarette (!) in an old upright we were rebuilding for a very famous singer-songwriter




anon.


  • 4.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 09:55 
    From Ron Nossaman <rnossaman@cox.net>

> The most exciting thing I have found in a piano was a nest of live mice.
> It caused some excitement with the lady of the house and her teen aged
> daughter.
> 
> Martin Wisenbaker, RPT

Did that. The nest was built of shredded shank cushions (the 
entire set) and in the treble end of the action cavity in a 
Yamaha grand in a high school auditorium.

Ron N


  • 5.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 10:57 
    From Willem Blees <wimblees@aol.com>

How about a dead bird in a grand piano, at the horn. Very expensive house in an exclusive neighborhood. The piano was in the front living room, very formal, hardly used by anyone. When I showed it to the customer, she told me that for years they wondered what the bad smell was in that room, and where it came from. How long, I asked. About 10 years. 


Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
Author of 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com



    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 6.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 10:17 
    From RptBob1@aol.com

I found about 37 jelly beans under the keys in an upright in a Chinese  
Church in cleveland.  What a mess!  And they were all stuck together  so had been 
there at least thruout the winter heating season.  BB
 
 
In a message dated 2/28/2008 12:00:07 P.M. Eastern Standard Time,  
rnossaman@cox.net writes:


>  The most exciting thing I have found in a piano was a nest of live  mice.
> It caused some excitement with the lady of the house and her  teen aged
> daughter.
> 
> Martin Wisenbaker, RPT

Did  that. The nest was built of shredded shank cushions (the 
entire set) and  in the treble end of the action cavity in a 
Yamaha grand in a high school  




**************Ideas to please picky eaters. Watch video on AOL Living.      
(http://living.aol.com/video/how-to-please-your-picky-eater/rachel-campos-duffy/
2050827?NCID=aolcmp00300000002598)


  • 7.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 10:20 
    From Paul T Williams <pwilliams4@unlnotes.unl.edu>

Are you sure it was only a "cigarette?"  <G>

pw




reggaepass@aol.com 
Sent by: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
02/28/2008 11:14 AM
Please respond to
Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org>


To
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cc

Subject
Re: Treasures in pianos






3)An old wallet with long-lost pictures of the client (now a mother) when 
she and her sister were kids 

2) several hundred dollars cash put in the action of a grand (through the 
treble strings) by a woman who didn't want her gambling-addicted husband 
to find it, and

1) the remnants of a hand rolled cigarette (!) in an old upright we were 
rebuilding for a very famous singer-songwriter

anon.



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  • 8.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 11:34 
    From "Robin Blankenship" <tunerdude@comcast.net>

Things found by myself in pianos include:
a shiny new 1918 U.S. Quarter
an unfired .357 magnum round
live mice, with nest
pre-Civil War  dust, undisturbed
part of a mid-1860's German postcard, used to shim the pinblock
about an entire bushel of dead roaches, plus their "stuff" so encrusting the action that it was utterly unusable at that time ( I did manage to salvage it)
regurgitated cream soda float
various snake skins
blood splatters from wounded Union soldiers
USED condoms
a large number of opportunities to do heroic pitch raises


I'm still looking for the matching $140,000 in cash that was discovered inside an old upright by a tech up in Minnesota about 18 years ago.....

Keeps one guessing, though!!!

Robin Blankenship
Matoaca, Virginia

  
    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 9.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 12:34 
    From "AlliedPianoCraft" <AlliedPianoCraft@hotmail.com>

This happened to me many years ago when I was doing work for a big dealer in NYC. They purchased a vertical piano. After about 6 months the complained about a buzz in the piano. I was asked to go and check it out. I played the piano and it sounded like it had loose ribs. Terrible buzz. I pulled the piano away from the wall to check the soundboard. Sitting on the bottom brace was a bottle of Rye & and a bottle of Ginger Ale. While pulling it out from the back of the piano, I said, "I found your problem" showing him the bottle of Rye. In the most defensive voice I have ever heard, "That's not my problem, that's not my problem" I did all I can do to keep from rolling on the floor. He asked if I could keep it between us. Why not! That customer will never call again with a complaint!

Al Guecia

  
    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 10.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 14:05 
    From "Rob Goodale" <rrg@unlv.nevada.edu>

Lots of various food and merchandise stamps,  postal and war bond stamps, many mercury dimes and other odd-ball coins, and one of my favorites: a very old 1940s looking pencil in a brass ammo shaped shell casing with a removable bullet to access the tip and John 3:16 printed on it.  Lots and lots of gold stars, finished and unfinished letters, kid's home work, candles, hundreds of paper clips, hundreds of guitar picks, receipts of every kind, an uncashed check, other technician's tools, and an old upright that was so heavy the movers could hardly get it on a dolly.  The reason?  It was apparently once in a church and someone completely PACKED the bottom with old hymnals.  They had apparently been there for decades and were badly disintegrating.

Rob Goodale, RPT
Las Vegas, NV


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

>  Things found by myself in pianos include:
>  a shiny new 1918 U.S. Quarter
>  an unfired .357 magnum round
>  live mice, with nest
>  pre-Civil War  dust, undisturbed
>  part of a mid-1860's German postcard, used to shim the pinblock
>  about an entire bushel of dead roaches, plus their "stuff" so encrusting the action that it was utterly unusable at that time ( I did manage to salvage it)
>  regurgitated cream soda float
>  various snake skins
>  blood splatters from wounded Union soldiers
>  USED condoms
>  a large number of opportunities to do heroic pitch raises
>  
>  
>  I'm still looking for the matching $140,000 in cash that was discovered inside an old upright by a tech up in Minnesota about 18 years ago.....
>  
>  Keeps one guessing, though!!!
>  
>  Robin Blankenship
>  Matoaca, Virginia


  • 11.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 15:03 
    From paulrevenkojones@aol.com

Servicing a spinet on the South Side of Chicago which had recently been moved up from Mississippi. Was checking the trapwork for some reason and found a greasy bag, very heavy, looked inside? and found two loaded revolvers. Told client, and she exclaims, "Oh, we were looking for Uncle Joe's guns!".? 

Paul


  • 12.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 15:51 
    From "Ed  Sutton" <ed440@mindspring.com>

A layer of cat fur, pressed tight and filling the space between the keybed and key bottoms. When I removed it I found one budgie feather felted in the middle.

A gold earing between two keys, slowing down key return. As I showed it to the owner a little toddler came up to us, snatched the earing from my hand and, saying "No-no-no-Da-Da!" she tucked it back in between the keys!

Ed S.


  • 13.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 19:15 
    From Scott Jackson <scottwaynejackson@hotmail.com>

Loaded?!?!?!
Bad, Bad Leroy Brown...............


________________________________
> To: pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject: Re: Treasures in pianos
> Date: Thu, 28 Feb 2008 17:03:02 -0500
> From: paulrevenkojones@aol.com
> 
> Servicing a spinet on the South Side of Chicago which had recently been moved up from Mississippi. Was checking the trapwork for some reason and found a greasy bag, very heavy, looked inside  and found two loaded revolvers. Told client, and she exclaims, "Oh, we were looking for Uncle Joe's guns!".
> 

_________________________________________________________________
Overpaid or Underpaid? Check our comprehensive Salary Centre
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  • 14.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 14:33 
    From <pianolady50@peoplepc.com>

Various coins, of course, including a 1913, 10 shilling, silver coin from India.

Dog food, mice nests, little skeletons, and palmetto bug carasses and the like in keybeds.

A miniature ceramic skunk.

A business card with a phone number: 451-L

A tiny thank you note from one neighbor to another, from April 1944 with a 'Win the War' .03 Victory stamp.  It was sent from 168 Peachtree Circle to 1382 Peachtree Street, same city.

In a summer home, half the fringe from the oriental carpet made a nice nest among the tracker bar tubing in an upright player.

One of the best finds was starting a rebuild on a Cornish reed organ on April 11, 1996 and inside finding the hand written date from a previous service, April 11, 1906!

Debbie Legg


  • 15.  Treasures in pianos

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-28-2008 15:54 
    From reggaepass@aol.com

Now that you mention it, I too have found a used condom in a piano (school of music practice room).? A pair of underpants as well.

Alan Eder



 


    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 16.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 17:01 
    From "paul bruesch" <paul@bruesch.net>

Can't come close to matching that... but I've found a communion wafer
(actually, the church pianist called and asked me to retrieve it because it
"really should not be there") and, in said church pianist's brother's supper
club S&S "B" (for Beater?), a cigarette butt.

Paul Bruesch
Stillwater, MN

On Thu, Feb 28, 2008 at 4:54 PM, <reggaepass@aol.com> wrote:

>  Now that you mention it, I too have found a used condom in a piano
> (school of music practice room).  A pair of underpants as well.
>
> Alan Eder
>
>
>  
    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 17.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 17:20 
    From Willem Blees <wimblees@aol.com>

Speaking of communion wavers,?I got a call from a church to replace the bass strings on their grand piano. A full tray of communion wine cups was put on the piano lid, for the pianist to take one, and someone accidentally tipped over the tray, spilling all the cups of wine onto the bass strings,?into the action and on the dampers. The action survived, albeit with wine stains on the hammers, but the strings had become?dead and buzzing.?


Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
Author of 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com



    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 18.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 22:30 
    From "Fenton Murray" <fmurray@cruzio.com>

I was called to evaluate a spinet piano in a bowling alley, the piano was stored in a back room. The owner met me during the day and opened up so I could look at the piano. When I lifted the lid a string that had been pinched under the lid dropped down to the bottom of the piano. I removed the knee board and saw a foil packet with the string tied to it. 15 silver certificate $100. dollar bills. The foil packet could be pulled up and added to or subtracted from and the lowered back in place. The lady said the piano belonged to her mom and after she died they found money all over the house. She gave me one of them.
Fenton
  
    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 19.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-28-2008 18:39
      |   view attached 
    From Jon Page <jonpage@comcast.net>

The best treasure, posted before... big bucks...
-- 

Regards,

Jon Page


  • 20.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 04:22 
    From Conrad Hoffsommer <hoffsoco@luther.edu>

Jon Page wrote:
> The best treasure, posted before... big bucks...

Thanks for the picture of a couple of my heroes.

Here's a compilation, not copyrighted, and seen on this list before, of 
things I found in the first few years I was in the business:

(I gave up keeping track after a while.)

> Treasures found in Pianos
> ----------------------------------
> Acorn
> Afro-comb
> Allen wrench (1/16")
> Ankle bracelet
> Amusement ride token
> Audio Cassette (in & without box)
> Balls:Ping-pong
> 	 Golf
> 	 Super
> 	 wood
> Band-Aids
> Barbie purse
> Barettes
> Bassoon plaque
> BB's
> Belt loops
> Bicycle chain link
> Bingo markers
> Bottles:Glue/mucilage
> 	   Empty humidifier
> 	   slide oil
> Bow tie
> Bracelet
> Brazil nuts
> Buttons
> Cake candle holder
> Candle
> Candy wrappers
> Cat rabies tag
> Cereals:Cherrios
> 	   Cocoa Krispies
> Chalk
> Chapstick
> Checkers
> Children's:Handerkerchief
> 		 Story book
> Christmas tree ornament (Broken)
>   "		window decal
> Church programs
> Cigarette lighter
> Cigar & Cigarette ashes and butts
> Clarinet reeds
> Clarinet reed clamp screw
> Cloth name patch
> Clothespins
> Clothing price tag
> Coins (Real & play)
> Cookies
> Cough drops
> Coasters
> Crayons
> Croutons
> Decomposing hard candy
> Dental pick
> Doll eyes / shoes
> Dowels
> Drain plug (1/4")
> Drapery hook
> Drill bit (Broken)
> Earring pendant
> Engagement ring
> Eyeglass case
> Fabric
> Felt
> File
> Fingernail (glue-on type)
> Food service silverware washing bucket
> Flag-bearing toothpick
> Flashbulb
> Floss pick
> Furniture brackets
> Garbage bag tie
> Guitar picks
> High school:Hall pass
> 		  Library card
> Insole insert
> Insects - dead & alive
> Jar full of coins (good hiding
>  place!, but not good enough.) ;-}
> Jigsaw puzzle pieces
> Jelly beans
> Ketchup packets
> Key (Dormroom)
> Kleenex (Usually used)
> Leaves & needles
> Library book label
> Lip gloss tube
> Lollipop sticks
> "Mad" play money
> M&M's
> Marbles
> Masking tape
> Matches
> Metronome pendulum weight
> Mickey Mouse key fob
>   "      "   book
> Miniature crosswalk sign
> Mini-backgammon set
> Model train scenery
> Mouse nest (live inhabitants)
> Muffin paper
> Music
>   "   theory flashcard
> Nailfile
> Nails:Paneling
> 	 Finishing
> 	 Roofing
> Name tag
> Necklace
> Nuprin tablets
> Nut & bolt
> Oboe tube
> Padlock
> Paper
> Paper:Airplanes
> 	 Clips
> 	 Cups
> Peanut shells
> Pens
> Pencil erasers
> Pencils
> Photographic negative (110 size)
> Pierced earring
> Pins:Hat
> 	Bobby
> 	Safety
> 	Straight
> 	Piano bridge
> Pistacio shells
> Pitch pipe
> Pizza coupon
> Plastic:Knives
> 	Forks
> 	Spoons
> 	Cups
> 	Straws
> 	Magnifying glass
> 	Labels
> 	Dental floss pick
> 	Straw (Easter Basket type)
> 	Napkin holder
> Political campaign button
> Popcorn (unpopped)
> Popsicle sticks
> Pop-tops
> Q-tips
> Raisin
> Razor blades
> Receipt (Cash register tape)
> Religious medals
> Rubber bands 
> 	Regular
> 	Orthodontic
> Salt packets
> Sea shell
> Scissors
> Scotch tape
> Screw hook
> Screwdriver
> Screws
> Sewing needles
> Sewing machine needles
> Shoe insert
> Silly putty egg
> Spaghetti (raw)
> Staples
> Straw
> Tail for Pin-the-tail-on-donkey
> Temporary auto registration
> Threaded rod (?"-20 x 10")
> Throat lozenges
> Thumb tacks
> Tiddley winks
> Toilet paper roll
> Toothbrush
> Towel
> Twist ties
> UFO's (Unidentified found objects)
> Violin mute - rubber type
> Water
> Wine bottle cork wire
> Wood shavings
> Wristwatch
> Yahtsee score pads

-- 
Conrad Hoffsommer, RPT - Keyboard Technician
Luther College, 700 College Dr., Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045
1-(563)-387-1204 // Fax 1-(563)-387-1076


  • 21.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 06:39 
    From Paul T Williams <pwilliams4@unlnotes.unl.edu>

It's cool to see old dates and tuners who used to sign the plate in old 
uprights.  The best one I saw was an old upright painted white and inside 
on the green plate was a techs name and dated 1909, Nome Alaska!  It 
either had to be in a bar or missionary.  What else could have been there 
in those days?

pw




<pianolady50@peoplepc.com> 
Sent by: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
02/28/2008 03:47 PM
Please respond to
Pianotech List <pianotech@ptg.org>


To
"Pianotech List" <pianotech@ptg.org>
cc

Subject
Re: Treasures in pianos






Various coins, of course, including a 1913, 10 shilling, silver coin from 
India.
 
Dog food, mice nests, little skeletons, and palmetto bug carasses and the 
like in keybeds.
 
A miniature ceramic skunk.
 
A business card with a phone number: 451-L
 
A tiny thank you note from one neighbor to another, from April 1944 with a 
'Win the War' .03 Victory stamp.  It was sent from 168 Peachtree Circle to 
1382 Peachtree Street, same city.
 
In a summer home, half the fringe from the oriental carpet made a nice 
nest among the tracker bar tubing in an upright player.
 
One of the best finds was starting a rebuild on a Cornish reed organ on 
April 11, 1996 and inside finding the hand written date from a previous 
service, April 11, 1906!
 
Debbie Legg


  • 22.  Treasures in pianos

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 02-29-2008 07:28 
    From "Cy Shuster" <cy@shusterpiano.com>

Birdseed is pretty common.

I also found an Indian head cent from 1898 under the keys of a piano made in 1895 (Mendelssohn).  But I think the real treasures are the gold stars... just thinking about the patient teaching, and the hard work of students.

--Cy--
ABQ, NM


  • 23.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 09:44 
    From "Michael Magness" <IFixPianos@yahoo.com>

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Cy Shuster <cy@shusterpiano.com> wrote:

>  Birdseed is pretty common.
>
> I also found an Indian head cent from 1898 under the keys of a piano made
> in 1895 (Mendelssohn).  But I think the real treasures are the gold stars...
> just thinking about the patient teaching, and the hard work of students.
>
> --Cy--
> ABQ, NM
>
>

I find pictures all the time and frequently when I give them to the owners
they have no idea who they are, the pics are from previous owners!

I did have one rather neat thing happen, I had a customer with a very dead
old upright and I explained to him what it would cost to put it right, that
it wasn't a great specimen to begin with and suggested he find another
piano. He bought a new one from the store I was tuning for at the time he
asked if I would instruct him on how to dismantle the old piano, he's the
recycling manager for the city and wanted to recycle as much as he could. I
explained how to take it apart safely and he did, taking the plate and
strings to a metal recycler, using some of the wood in his shop and burning
some of the rest in his fireplace.

When I arrived to tune the next time there was small frame above the piano
with an opera ticket in it from 1901, he had found it under the balance
rail, intact and thought it was nice reminder of the old piano he and his
kids had recycled.

Mike
--
 We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike@ifixpianos.com


  • 24.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 10:41 
    From <johndelmore@suddenlink.net>

Now, wouldn't it have been great if he had made the frame FROM the dead piano?  Did he?

John
---- Michael Magness <IFixPianos@yahoo.com> wrote: 
> On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Cy Shuster <cy@shusterpiano.com> wrote:
> 
 
> When I arrived to tune the next time there was small frame above the piano
> with an opera ticket in it from 1901, he had found it under the balance
> rail, intact and thought it was nice reminder of the old piano he and his
> kids had recycled.
> 
> Mike
> --


  • 25.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 18:12 
    From "Michael Magness" <IFixPianos@yahoo.com>

On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 11:40 AM, <johndelmore@suddenlink.net> wrote:

> Now, wouldn't it have been great if he had made the frame FROM the dead
> piano?  Did he?
>
> John
> ---- Michael Magness <IFixPianos@yahoo.com> wrote:
> > On Fri, Feb 29, 2008 at 8:27 AM, Cy Shuster <cy@shusterpiano.com> wrote:
> >
>
>  > When I arrived to tune the next time there was small frame above the
> piano
> > with an opera ticket in it from 1901, he had found it under the balance
> > rail, intact and thought it was nice reminder of the old piano he and
> his
> > kids had recycled.
> >
> > Mike
> > --
>
>

No I don't think that occured to him, I know I would have thought of it but
the frame was a small commercially made one.

Mike
-- 
We have enough youth, how about a fountain of SMART?
Michael Magness
Magness Piano Service
608-786-4404
www.IFixPianos.com
email mike@ifixpianos.com


  • 26.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 13:05 
    From Willem Blees <wimblees@aol.com>

A brothel.


Willem (Wim) Blees, RPT
Piano Tuner/Technician
Honolulu, HI
Author of 
The Business of Piano Tuning
available from Potter Press
www.pianotuning.com



    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 27.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 15:37 
    From "Fenton Murray" <fmurray@cruzio.com>

While tuning an old Steinway Upright I noticed many tuning dates in pencil from the early 1900s, all from the same tuner. I also noticed an arrow pointing to a note in the tuning pin area with the word 'buzz', same handwriting from the same era, sure enough it was still buzzing, mind you I'm on the scene maybe 85 years later. I can't leave this one alone, I looked around, pulled the action and saw the bridge notching just a little bit off with the string contacting the bridge side cut on a firm blow, a little chisel work and all is well. That guy can sleep now. We gotta help each other out in this biz.
Fenton
  
    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
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  • 28.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 19:26 
    From "David Ilvedson" <ilvey@sbcglobal.net>

That's funny...how many times do we see chalk marks on hammers that click etc.   Never repaired but carefully marked...



David Ilvedson, RPT

Pacifica, CA 94044









Original message

From: "Fenton Murray"

To: "Pianotech List"

Received: 2/29/2008 2:36:37 PM

Subject: Re: Treasures in pianos





While tuning an old Steinway Upright I noticed many tuning dates in pencil from the early 1900s, all from the same tuner. I also noticed an arrow pointing to a note in the tuning pin area with the word 'buzz', same handwriting from the same era, sure enough it was still buzzing, mind you I'm on the scene maybe 85 years later. I can't leave this one alone, I looked around, pulled the action and saw the bridge notching just a little bit off with the string contacting the bridge side cut on a firm blow, a little chisel work and all is well. That guy can sleep now. We gotta help each other out in this biz.

Fenton


    
                                                
    
					
                                                    

        
                                                
				
    
                                                
    
                                                    
                                                        
                                                        Original Message


  • 29.  Treasures in pianos

    Posted 02-29-2008 20:28 
    From Ron Nossaman <rnossaman@cox.net>

> That's funny...how many times do we see chalk marks on hammers that 
> click etc.   Never repaired but carefully marked...
> 
> David Ilvedson, RPT

It's the same dysfunction that brings you the referral call 
for repairs, armed with a price estimate provided by the guy 
who supplied the referral, but doesn't do the work.

Ron N