Discussion Posts

Sounds like mice pee, or maybe cockroaches. There is nothing you can do to stop that, short of getting rind of the animals Wim Blees, RPT

My adventure in piano repair today involved replacing the rubber grommets on a Wurlitzer spinet piano. This grommet fits into a metal spade driven into the end of the key. I am trying to figure out why some (maybe 10%) of those metal spades were very ...

Hi all, I have a client who just purchased a very high-end instrument and would like to insure it apart from their homeowners policy which does not cover an instrument of this value. Any recommendations? Thanks in advance! . . . . ...

I actually just came across an action in the field that had front rail glide bolts, 1982? Baldwin SF, first time I've actually had to consider them. This Estonia doesn't have it though. I think some of my samples got created incorrectly due to the shallow ...

I recall that some Estonias I have seen have glide bolts installed in the key bed for bedding the front rail. In that case, placing the action on a workbench and expecting to easily replicate the bedding may be problematic. ------------------------------ ...

Despite campaigning against outsourcing, Paulson moves Conn-Selmer Manufacturing from Ohio to China. Breaks promise to union. Is Steinway next? ------------------------------ Parker Leigh RPT Winchester VA (540) 722-3865 -------------------- ...

I made a guess for this particular action not knowing that the bracket was dual use . I worked on a grand that I think was Bush & Lane that had a half blow rail that lifted the hammers close to the strings so it would play softer Its always good to get ...

Here are two photos of the Yamaha solenoids I posted earlier. Sent from my iPhone

Sent from my iPhone

The key factor here is "in your area". The sender doesn't know where on earth you are but you think you do. If it's not specific, it's fake Best wishes David P

Yamaha jacks with “double” toes are installed in all grands now, regardless if the piano has a Disklavier mechanism. Joe Wiencek NYC

Some high end reproducing grands used a large shift pneumatic. More common, though, is the hammer half blow lifter rail activated pneumatically. Deb Debra Legg www.debraleggpiano.com 5 Tarr's Lane WEST Rockport, MA 01966 978-546-842 ...

Be careful: any link even not from email can activate malware. AI makes the problem worse and miscreants can use advertising apis to inject malware into your system. My Norton 360 just blocked one two days ago. Although Macs are much better, they ...

Thanks, Del

The brackets as have been mentioned could be used on both players and non players. Most Mason and Hamlin players used the Ampico system. 1928 would have been an Ampico A. Ampico had a moveable hammer rest rail for the soft pedal function. By 1928 a pneumatic ...

This action bracket is seen on many mid to late twenties Mason & Hamlin Grand pianos. The extra holes are meant to hold the L shaped brackets that would then be connected to a wooden hammer rail. The hammer rail would be lifted by a bellows usually located ...

Unfortunately simply opening an email can trigger installation of malware on your computer. I will not open anything that I do not know FOR SURE is legit. I send it straight to spam and block the sender. Even if it has a friend or client name on it, if ...

Player grands often (if not always) used the "half-blow" rail instead of shifting the action since the player unit does not lend itself to sideways movement. It is standard manufacturing practice to economize where possible by making a part that is usable ...

No one asks AI to cite its sources. ------------------------------ Larry Messerly, RPT Bringing Harmony to Homes www.lacrossepianotuning.com ljmesserly@gmail.com 928-899-7292 ------------------------------

Actually, I tend to agree with Del and Larry, that was my first thought but the missing bushings threw me off, I couldn't quite picture it. but I have seen those mechanisms. AI always is so good at sounding authoritative, but there's no room above the ...

I seriously doubt this had anything to do with the player mechanism. Most likely mounting point for a half blow rail. ------------------------------ Larry Messerly, RPT Bringing Harmony to Homes www.lacrossepianotuning.com ljmesserly@gmail.com 928-899-7292 ...

As a general safety rule avoid clicking on links: go directly to the website in question. ------------------------------ Parker Leigh RPT Winchester VA (540) 722-3865 ------------------------------

I hate to argue with artificial intelligence, but some grand pianos fitted with player mechanisms often had "soft pedal" functions which, much like soft pedal mechanisms on uprights, simply moved the hammers closer to the string. These holes, when bushed, ...

Thanks, Steven. Mystery solved, suspicions confirmed. Where did you find that info? MH website? Sent from my iPad

Chat gpt offers this: On this 1928 Mason & Hamlin piano action, that cast-iron bracket feature with the circular opening is a specialized mounting point for an Ampico Reproducing Player System . Function and Design While the main action bracket ...

Sometimes a manufacturer that is making lots of players, whether 100 years ago or today, will come up with one part that will work in both situations. There is some economy in that for them. I also have a Mason and Hamlin model A from that era in my care ...

This was definitely not a player, but I was wondering if this fixture would be used to attach some part of a player mechanism. Sent from my iPhone

James - I like the 'transport' theory, except for - what it would have entailed as an added expense of that length of (presumably) disposable rod the added cost of otherwise unnecessary cast iron the significant awkwardness of removing the ...

Maybe to help hoist the full action around in the factory or a way to keep hammers from flopping around during transport . A long rod could go through the holes Maybe there is a patent on file since it is a genuine M & H bracket ------------------------------ ...

Beware of calls to your phones that are telemarketing in nature . They are trying to get a short recording of your voice which then can be used to impersonate you because AI can be used to take your sample and duplicate your voice to get into voice response ...

This is a 1928 Mason and Hamlin A action bracket. Any idea what the added fixture is? Every action bracket has this extension. ------------------------------ Stewart Freedman, RPT Freedman Piano Service Akron, OH ------------------------------

Two files. Spurlock vertical hammer and a old Pianotech discussion about it. ------------------------------ Mike McCoy, RPT Cape May Courthouse NJ Chapters 170 & 080 mike@mccoyspiano.com ------------------------------

If the action is ws&g the brass may be ok but age is still an issue. Brooks can do the conversion for you if you are squeamish. I still favor conversion over brass. You would use slotted flanges with wire. ------------------------------ Parker Leigh ...

Tim, If the brass rails do not have any broken mounting posts I would not automatically assume they are going to fail. I see a good number of 100+ year pianos where the rails are fine and only need plates replaced. Within that last year or so someone ...

Tim, I have a bunch of Bill's instruction sheets around "somewhere". Maybe I have what you're looking for. I'll dig around. Peter Grey Piano Doctor ------------------------------ Peter Grey Stratham NH (603) 686-2395 pianodoctor57@gmail.com ...

Original butts would not have a flange so one would have to use new ones WITH flanges. Ideally, I would opt (after extremely careful examination with magnification) for annealing and re-using the original brass rail and new butt plates. But if I ...

This is all great information, thank you so much! I wasn't able to locate the article on the Spurlock website, does anybody have access to it or can you point me in the right direction? Thank you again! ------------------------------ Tim Foster RPT ...

The spurlock method is super easy. The brass rail is the template. You adjust so the center pin of the new flange is at the same height as original. The flanges need a horizontal groove cut in them. He used a brass or copper wire that as you ...

Thanks for the replies everyone. Sounds like I'm on the right track. Steven - I hadn't thought of that, and a very good idea I might try. It IS a Renner action, but on a Kluge keyset, and the piano was made in Europe, so I'm not sure Renner USA would ...

I'm guessing that's when the action is riding pretty high on the glide bolts, as is sometimes done to increased aftertouch... Edit: oops I'm a slowpoke, this was already answered

Thanks for the link, Paul. ------------------------------ Alan Eder, RPT Herb Alpert School of Music California Institute of the Arts Valencia, CA 661.904.6483 ------------------------------

Hi Alan: I'm repeating what i've read and heard about Yamaha pianos. I am by no means an expert. If you search this thread from some time ago, you'll get more opinions from others on Pianotech: "Adjusting Yamaha grand action glides". Here's the ...

iPad Pro 6th generation Os 26.1 Thomas Brantigan Piano Technician tombrantigan@gmail.com Cell: 410-371-1617 www.pianotraditions.com All strange wordings and spellings are brought to you by Siri!

Paul, Assuming that you are referring to the "blind" balance rail glide bolts positioned between the glide bolts that appear between sections and are not accessible from above/between the keys, I question the notion that they should not be adjusted. ...

Robin, is it a Renner action? Maybe they can help. ------------------------------ Steven Rosenthal RPT Honolulu HI (808) 521-7129 ------------------------------

WNG parts use pseudosuede (aka ecsaine) in place of buckskin. Pseudosuede is manufactured to very exact standards, very even thickness and very even friction. It is also virtually indestructable in piano actions. An engineer reported no discernable ...

Some pianos are set up with glide bolts set so the balance rail is held off the keybed. Young Chang comes to mind. Yamaha also. Yamaha has two glide bolts that are not meant to be adjusted in the field. They set the basic height and then the other ...

That’s how I did my M&H upright. I followed Bill’s instructions. Worked very well.

What model of iPad are you using, and what version of iOS? The only time I had trouble with mine was when it got to be 6-7 years old. The software and hardware had become too old to support various apps and tasks, leading to behavior like you describe. ...

It means that the glide bolts were set high/deep to raise the balance rail, instead of just to establish contact with the key bed. This is a relatively new piano (I think <7 years) and hasn't seen any work since the dealer. Re-setting the glide bolts ...