Hi Geoff, I know people use a variety of tools-hacksaw blades, shimmed chisels, dental picks, etc. My go-to tool is a flathead screwdriver. Some technicians also apply vinegar or acetone to improve cleaning, though I do not use those methods. Here ...
Your jig is quite fantastic, Elisha. I'm gonna make one. Do you have a special way of cleaning the old cords out of the slots, too? ------------------------------ Geoff Sykes, RPT Los Angeles CA ------------------------------
Thank you, Ed. I'm sure many of you, with your woodworking, 3D printing, or CNC capabilities, could refine this prototype further and make better jig for yourself. ------------------------------ Elisha Katamura RPT Katamura Piano Service Fresno, ...
Tim, Very interesting. I'm counting about 4 1/2 coils on those pins, even in the bass! Wow! Thx for posting that Peter Grey Piano Doctor ------------------------------ Peter Grey Stratham NH (603) 686-2395 pianodoctor57@gmail.com --- ...
Elisha- That is a wonderful way to replace the cords. Anyone who does this job needs to know about this. ------------------------------ Ed Sutton ed440@me.com (980) 254-7413 ------------------------------
There are journal articles on cord replacement, both with and without plates. I do cord replacements several times each year. I use a jig, which has reduced frustration and saved a great deal of time. https://youtube.com/shorts/QknRCl28sIA?si=ORAaJNdmAb99N1G_ ...
I replace the cords also ------------------------------ Les Koltvedt Macomb MI lkpianos@gmail.com ------------------------------
When I was in Hawaii, I would replace the string loops on bout a dozen pianos per year. I didn't buy the string from Yamaha. I just bought a similar product at Walmart. I got the procedure down to about 5 hours.
I thought of this thread after tuning an Estonia semi-concert grand yesterday the owner bought new a couple years ago. Beautiful piano! ------------------------------ Tim Foster RPT New Oxford PA (470) 231-6074 ------------------------------
The complication comes (with the butt plate style) when the plates are never tightened throughout the piano's life and pins migrate out, ultimately screwing up the pinning on one side. Now you're faced with hours of pin fitting or even bushing replacement, ...
I do two or three butt spring loop repairs a year. I find it FAR easier to buy the cord from Yamaha and replace the cord loop instead of the entire flange. Every time I have gone the flange route I have had to spend extra time repinning as they're always ...
Sherry, find a clarinetist or other single reed player, they buy them by the box and go through them quickly. ------------------------------ Steven Rosenthal RPT Honolulu HI (808) 521-7129 ------------------------------
What does everyone use for shimming material? Clarinet reeds and epoxy work well, but the reeds are rather pricey. ------------------------------ Sherry Johnson RPT RPT Clemmons NC (336) 624-3122 ------------------------------
At some point I saved a set of butt flanges I took off and set them aside to be rebuilt. Then those get the string replaced and the set is sitting on a shelf waiting for the next time this repair comes in. The flange bushings are usually not an issue. ...
While I do agree that it was probably AI generated, it was still very informative. But the least they could have shown was a Baldwin action instead of one from a Steinway piano.
Great video except for the constant commercial interruptions! It just reminds me of what not to buy Paul
It looks like 48 minutes of AI lecture with a typical AI grab bag of photos. AI is especially stupid at picking illustrations for its text. ------------------------------ Ed Sutton ed440@me.com (980) 254-7413 ------------------------------
I came across this video documenting the history of the Baldwin piano manufacturing in the United States from the very beginning to the present day. A very interesting and well made video. Well worth your time to watch. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9x67jm-hdaE ...
The bridge should have the (metric) gauge number. I would imagine you can also input the IH measurements into an ETD and see how smooth the curve is around that note. I would imagine this anomaly would show up as a bump in the curve. ------------------------------ ...
I had this scenario happen to me. One trick that was slightly helpful was to reach in and, using finger pressure I tweaked each spring down to reduce their force. It did seem to lower the playing resistance by a gram or two. ------------------------------ ...
It's important to tune your own piano first, time and time again and become proficient. Take everyone else's advice too, but do your own. In the modern context however, the industry really does have to change to make the music intrinsically more interesting ...
Hello Jovanni, Just curious as to why your parents said piano servicing was unstable. Maybe because it takes a long time to build the business? It will take years. I will suggest you take up the offer of having a mentor. It does depend on who that ...
Mr. Gadd, Back in October of last year I restrung a 1965 Yamaha and used the soft 13/32" by 5/16" bushings from Pianotek. https://my.ptg.org/discussion/drill-or-no-drill#bmf3d684f0-d3cb-4f69-9944-0199f9861abe I did not drill the bushings, opting ...
David, From the factory, the hard pin bushings are drilled together with the pinblock. Therefore the fit of the pin in the bushing matches the block, and the system is very stable. After a restringing with new tuning pins, especially ...
I'm perplexed. Why is there no discussion regarding the merits of undertaking a restringing on a piano that has been subject to the described conditions? And then there's Don's shimming advice. I feel like it was himself that challenged the physical ...
As Roger indicated, you made an error in assuming that "inexpensive eBay flanges" were a reasonable substitute for Yamaha flanges readily available from Yamaha's USA offices. I'd even be careful in assuming Tokiwa parts are an exact copy. I have had ...
I have also learned (actually still in the process of learning) to warn the client BEFORE doing action work, that it's going to feel a little (at least) different afterwards, and there may be a need to adapt to it. That way they anticipate a change, ...
So this is an interesting skill in customer service. The customer uses words to describe something that concerns them. It is an attempt to name a feeling or sensation. Step One should be working to understand the words. Can you feel, see or hear something ...
Excellent! Anne is just the best! David G. Hughes, RPT Baltimore Chapter ------------------------------ David Hughes RPT Vintage Case Parts Glyndon MD (443) 522-2201 ------------------------------
A simple test would have been to disengage several of the hammer springs and get the customer's opinion. The new springs may just have been increasing the touch force. ------------------------------ Blaine Hebert RPT Duarte CA (626) 390-0512 ----- ...
Wim - Schrodinger's Tuner. ------------------------------ David Skolnik [RPT] Hastings-on-Hudson NY (917) 589-2625 ------------------------------
Patrick - I agree with Wim, sort of. The client asked you to repair the broken parts. Without much discourse, you somehow arrived at the interpretation of the terminology of "restrained" as having a very specific technical parameter and causation. ...
Robert - As you see, to get the most of inquiries you post, you have to be proactive. Most of the responses thus far address your tagged-on question about humidity control rather than dust control of the shop setting. Since Fred and Alan (and others) ...
Are there existing smartphone apps that do the following? Upon phone start-up the app sends a user-customizable email to a user-specificed address via local wifi. Upon appearance of a "battery low" warning, the app sends a user-customizable email ...
Patrick, Did you carefully check if the replacement flanges had dimensional specifications exactly as the original Yamaha? The slightest difference could make for a noticeable touch change. The last time (3 years ago) I purchased Yamaha flanges they ...
This is what I initially thought as well, but I figured if I reworked it and took it back that might "fix it". ------------------------------ Patrick Greene OWNER Knoxville TN (865) 384-6582 ------------------------------
I agree with Wim that if one is driving the pin into the block the same distance between the bottom coil and the plate, there will be less pin foot inside the block with 4 coils as opposed to 3, with the same overall pin length. If one uses the becket ...
Dylan, thanks for bringing this up. Years ago a mechanical engineer told me that the bearing points act as pulleys but didn't explain it. It shows how changing the angle of a string over a bearing point can have significant effect, thus the importance ...
Just to weigh in in support of what Fred said about controlling the room being the way to go… We have four MIDI grands. We have had humidistats and drying rods on them ever since they arrived on campus, decades ago, to try and lower the ceiling on moisture ...
Patrick I don't think the length of the butt cord, or spring loop as we also call it, had anything to do with having the action feel "restrained". I think what she was feeling was the hammers coming back faster than before, when the spring loops ...
This goes in the category..lesson learned..and also "have a slice of humble pie". So a customer asked me to repair her 45 year old Yamaha console action..all the hammer return springs were "popped up". I have done several of these over the years and ...
Hey all, I tuned once for George Winston. He thanked me in front of the audience for my work. I had to touch up unisons during intermission...(a very demanding but nice man) It was fun to get some recognition! Paul
The reason is related to final tuning pin height being as uniform (visually) as possible. In the upper 2 sections where the wire is much thinner, if you only do 3 coils you'll have to drive your tuning pin lower in order for the string that leaves the ...
David No, she did not get a "curtain call". She didn't even come on stage. In past piano concerto performances, she would come on stage after the piano was put in place to touch up a few unisons. But she didn't do that, this time, even after ...
That's nice. Wonder if she felt any additional stress after such exposure. Did she get a 'curtain call'? For some of us, the perfect concert 'prelude' would have been a paid listening to the tuning. I said "for some". ------------------------------ ...
Last night my wife and I attended a concert of the Jacksonville Orchestra conducted by its Music Director Courtney Lewis. On the program were three pieces for two pianos, featuring husband and wife Alessio Bax and Lucille Chung. The two of them gave a ...
Hi Garret, I tuned the pianos six or more times a year. The two grands with systems installed, Steinway Bs in the head piano prof's office, would typically have a pitch change that would be 25¢ sharp after the summer RH rise to 60% around the beginning ...
Hi Fred In your particular case, how frequently did/do you see the piano and what is the expected cent/pitch deviation? - Garret ------------------------------ Garret Traylor Trinity NC (336) 887-4266 ------------------------------
Robert, You also asked about humidity control. In my own experience with Dampp-chaser systems I found that they were not very effective in controlling RH associated tuning swings, particularly in grands. I did find that installing just a low RH humidistat ...
Out of sheer curiosity I poked my head inside one of three SS uprights here (currently with its original stringing 1901) and found 4 coils each in the top two treble sections, and 3 coils each in the tenor and bass. All nice and neatly done, of course. ...