Discussion Posts

December 2099 ? I can't wait that long ------------------------------ James Kelly Pawleys Island SC 843-325-4357 ------------------------------

Here's an extremely detailed (and somewhat repetitive) description of the job I just retired from at Sonoma State University/Green Music Center: Responsibilities   Reporting to and under the direction of the Director of Production and Technical Operations ...

I know this thread is probably over long and not interesting to a lot of subscribers, but I am going to add another post about the topic of unequal/historical temperaments in general. When I first approached historic tunings, back in the 1970s, I was ...

It's been my experience most poignantly with a  Kawai KG-8C but with Steinways and other pianos too that a well tuned unqual temperament can improve the tone of the piano, making it sound more whole, coherent, musical, warm, less strident so I've started ...

Thanks for your timely inquiry, Doug. Am currently updating my own job description. Finally, after all of these decades as, "Maintain the pianos," we are generating a more up-to-date, detailed and comprehensive description. When I inquired about whether ...

Greeting fellow Cautites: I've devised an apparatus to more quickly water the pianos in my care. Those of us who have rooms with more than one piano will, perhaps, find this somewhat of a time-saver, or at least keep us busy instead of staring ...

This is similar to a tactic I've sometimes used for old upright actions where a number of jack flanges have come loose and needed regluing. In an attempt to prevent more from coming loose, I've put Titebond cut half and half with water on the jack flange ...

Hello all, A group of people in my area is collecting pianos to send down to the people who lost them in the Camp Fire in Paradise, CA. I have been evaluating pianos for them to make sure they are worthy candidates based on the requests from people in ...

I have adapted the BYU database template for my own use at Liberty University. It has a lot more functions than we need, but I have sort of deleted fields I wasn't using and added some new ones so that it is very useful to us. David Pritchard ...

Thanks, Paul. Both those issues are before my time, but I do have the DVD collection so I do have access. Thanks! ------------------------------ Geoff Sykes, RPT Los Angeles CA ------------------------------

Great, and helpful information from everyone. Thanks! ------------------------------ Geoff Sykes, RPT Los Angeles CA ------------------------------

When I joined Jim Busby at BYU in 2002 we faced a great need to develop an inventory tracking system. We were told that the University was going to discontinue tracking items under a certain dollar amount. That would have dropped about 60% of our pianos ...

Hi Geoff, liquid hide has urea added to it to slow down the gel time. I believe commercial versions also add preservatives to prevent spoilage. There is a shelf life on liquid hide. It does not produce as strong a bond. It ...

I tried a slightly different remedy on an old Knabe upright last year.  I learned about the technique in some literature from Martha Taylor at Immortal Piano in Portland.  Hot hide glue can apparently be reactivated by vinegar.  The old Knabe had several ...

I did some shop experiments with various glues, including liquid hide glue. Compared to Elmers and Titebond, it seemed to take forever to set, and once set did not seem to hold as well, especially for felt. I've since given up the idea that liquid hide ...

Jason, Bach did tune his own harpsichords. He was not pleased by the tuning of most church organs, as it was mean tone, and made the constant modulation to distant keys of Bach's style impossible. There is no evidence that Bach preferred some specific ...

Urea content, I'm pretty sure.  The question is does high urea content achieve the same degree of hardness.  I don't know the answer.  Liquid hide glue I use all the time in wood to felt applications, like bushings,  I don't think I would use it to glue ...

I believe the cold hide glue uses,,or used to use urea to keep it liquid and it has a shelf life. There are dates on the bottles Plus with hot glue you have the double viscosity. You can thin hot glue with water or heat. Various formulas are available. ...

Hi, everyone, In the convention booklet I recently received, I see two photos of the Starr Pass Resort. They face west and away from Tucson. Lest you think that it is that remote from the city, if the camera faced east, you would see downtown Tucson ...

Also, December 1991, Page 22 by Bill Spurlock. Paul. ------------------------------ Paul Brown, RPT President Piano Technicians Guild Vancouver, BC Canada Email: pres@ptg.org ------------------------------

Hi Geoff, PTG DVD Catalogue of Reprints. 604/1267 OR PT Journal October 1971: RENEWING CATCHER LEATHER Paul. ------------------------------ Paul Brown, RPT President Piano Technicians Guild Vancouver, BC Canada Email: pres@ptg.org --------------- ...

Terry, that's basically the whole thing, except I warned that if you use too much white glue it can drip down and glue the hammer shank to the hammer rail cloth -- which happened to me once. ------------------------------ Susan Kline Philomath, Oregon ...

I just went to my trash messages and found her original post and that misspelled word is "pinky finger". On Studio or upright pianos when hammer is loose, just rub Elmer's White Glue in the joint between shank and loose hammer on the underside, ...

If you contact the home office they will help with a search. I have found that helpful before. Pwg ------------------------------ Peter Grey Stratham NH 603-686-2395 pianodoctor57@gmail.com ------------------------------

Probably increased the strike weight by a gram or two also. Pwg ------------------------------ Peter Grey Stratham NH 603-686-2395 pianodoctor57@gmail.com ------------------------------

Hot hide glue has superior holding properties which is why it is used for veneer work and player work. Cold hide glue never really hardens well and is not a glue where strength is involved. I'm sure John Tuttle has more info on his website: http://www.player-care.com ...

quite some precision work. Wonder if they dripped a drop of glue in the hole before applying the screw? ------------------------------ Petrus Janssen Peachtree City GA 678-416-8055 ------------------------------

Do you have a link to the post? And BTW, what the heck is a "pinky finge"? ------------------------------ Terry Farrell Farrell Piano Service, Inc. Brandon, Florida terry@farrellpiano.com 813-684-3505 ------------------------------

While I do not have an expert opinion to offer, I can offer my opinion based on practical experience. My belief is that ultimately both produce a joint of similar strength and final characteristics. The difference appears to be in the application. Liquid ...

Fred, Thanks for the link to your articles, I will re-read them, as when I originally read them, I didn't make time to think it all through thoroughly. It seems that Bach was more likely to have been using a circulating "good" temperament as his connection ...

Stephen, point well taken. It could be a good thing that pianos dont stay long where we put them for more than one reason! -- "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes." -Romans 1:16 ...

Guess that is one way to fix a loose hammer head, eh?  No, that was not me that did that . . . ------------------------------ Jim Fariss, RPT Black Forest Piano Black Forest, Colorado (719) 425-8845 ------------------------------

Jason, actually I'm not being critical of people's tuning abilities or subtle variations of ET. There are theoretical ideals, practical ideals, and then there are facts on the ground. Even pianos tuned on a regular basis drift and the different sections ...

Gary, I was also going to suggest sanding them. It may be worth a try.  I agree with the wisdom already given here but if it DOES come down to painting them, I have something I can highly recommend. It's a primer that is made for items & surfaces that ...

Some possible objective witnesses: Roller et Blanchet's Chromametre 1827 Bootman's PianoForte Tuning Scale 1853 Brambach's Piano Tuner 1903 These are each monochord devices for piano tuning. They are all scaled to produce equal temperament. My test of ...

What's the difference between hot hide glue and liquid hide glue? Do they function differently. Is one better than the other for the same job in which hide glue might be called for? If yes, why? Thanks -- ------------------------------ Geoff Sykes, ...

Does anyone remember a past Journal article on replacing upright back stop/catcher leather? I can't find it, and I'm beginning to believe I imagined it. If you remember this article, and know which issue of the Journal it was in, I would really appreciate ...

Can you find a serial number to narrow down the years ? maybe there are some dates written on the keys by tuners. awesome looking casework and the action looks pretty intact. I would not blow off old kimballs and have read some things that back in time ...

Jason, Fifteen years age and more, I thought the same as you do. Then I started investigating, and found out that a lot of what I was reading was seriously mistaken, at odds with the facts without any question. When I say "the facts" I mean surviving ...

Yes good side point. However, with the advent of better instructions, electronic tuning devices, and standard acceptance of ET as the norm "good" ETs became increasingly more common. Historic precision in tuning is not at the heart of the point I was ...

Mr. Kabat,  The part attached to the plate arm is the hanger for the rail. The part coming up through the keybed is the pitman which is adjustable by means of the knurled nut. Mr. Johnson,   The picture of the front duplex showing the more precise casting ...

Hello all. Could anyone comment on the springs associated with these cords being discussed? Any feelings about a separate return spring rail vs. the spring with cord combo? In my limited experience I have seen failed, weak cords in pianos where some ...

The time is coming very soon to fill the other 1/2-time position at the UW School of Music. I would like to take this opportunity to update the job description such that it paves the way for better compensation. So I was hoping that a few of you could ...

Having encountered and tuned between 10-20 thousand pianos in my life, I can say with confidence that any piano tuned precisely to ET or any other scheme at any given time is rare indeed. ------------------------------ Steven Rosenthal Honolulu HI 808-521-7129 ...

What I find concerning about this whole discussion is the fact that while Fred may have some written technical information that leans towards the use of equal temperament from the beginning of the 19th century, any student of the history of the trades ...

How interesting!! Thank you for sharing! Cory ------------------------------ Cory Jacobson Campbellsport WI 262-689-6043 ------------------------------

<wide smile> You're very welcome, Thomas! And if you don't have to pull the hammer off, it means you also won't manage to glue it back on crooked. ------------------------------ Susan Kline Philomath, Oregon ------------------------------

A few days ago I Learned about gluing loose hammers while on the shanks with Elmer's White Glue and your pinky finge from Susan Kline's post.       Today, for the first time I applied this technique to a Boston hammer. It took seconds to repair this hammer ...

David, I realize that on first glance, the notion of a temperament sequence containing seven just fourths and five tempered fifths brings to mind one of your favorite temperaments, Kellner. The problem is that the tempered and just 5ths/4ths alternate ...

With upcoming coordination for 6th May and Fred Sturm keeping me on my toes with research I've been searching diverse directions and occasionally find something of wider interest. I don't know if anyone knows of it but https://fundamentals-of-piano-practice.readthedocs.io/en/latest/ ...