Jon, you've jogged my memory - I've done about 20 jobs with the plates and scraping/gluing new tethers, and only 2 or 3 times with new flanges. With the new flanges, I got the relative spacing from the old grooves and then re-surfaced them because of exactly what you said. Initially, I thought I could get them back in the same spot, my mentor disagreed, and he was right. Aligning using the old grooves (and adjusting the few that weren't right) before sanding them was a little faster than just doing it from scratch, I think.
With the plates, the hammers always sound like they go right back to where they were before... have you found differently?
Scott, if you have the luxury of flanges with the plates, I wonder if the scraping could be made less unpleasant? We have a sharp scraper that's just the width of the tether channel, and it only takes about 20 minutes to scrape them all out. Admittedly, I might just be a masochist, but I enjoy the process since it works so easily with that scraper. That combined with not having to remove the flanges (thus, no traveling) allows me to get the whole job done in about 3 hours.
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Robin Whitehouse
Santa Cruz CA
robin@santacruzpiano.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2020 11:10
From: Scott Cole
Subject: Yamaha hammer flanges with spring/loop replacement
I've done a few of these, and always replaced the cord. But frankly, scraping and then gluing in those little cords is an odious chore. I think next time I'll just try new flanges. I've also found that when removing hammer flanges, the existing traveling paper often falls off anyway, so it's not like the preexisting flanges save you that much time.
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Scott Cole, RPT
rvpianotuner.com
Talent, OR
(541-601-9033
Original Message:
Sent: 02-07-2020 00:38
From: Jon Page
Subject: Yamaha hammer flanges with spring/loop replacement
When removing the hammers it is advisable to resurface the hammers. You will never get the string cuts totally aligned. An oscillating spindle sander makes quick work of reshaping and it make them look brand new. Optional tapering is a bonus.
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Regards,
Jon Page
mailto:jonpage@pianocapecod.com
http://www.pianocapecod.com
Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2020 23:40
From: Robin Whitehouse
Subject: Yamaha hammer flanges with spring/loop replacement
Under the tutelage of my mentor, we found that replacing the flanges themselves, (ordered from Yamaha) was the easiest option. It doesn't add the brass plates, but the center pins that come inserted into the flanges are at just the right friction. All we had to do was send home the new pins, screw the new flanges with old shanks/hammers back to the frame, and align hammers based on the grooves. Didn't find any traveling issues either. All in all, it didn't take much longer than the more desirable method with brass plates. Here's hoping that the birdseyes are in good shape and you have a relatively quick fix!
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Robin Whitehouse
Santa Cruz CA
robin@santacruzpiano.com
Original Message:
Sent: 02-04-2020 12:26
From: Jeff Farris
Subject: Yamaha hammer flanges with spring/loop replacement
Hello everyone,
I've replaced the spring loops on Yamaha uprights several times over the years. The design with the little brass plate seems to be easier to deal with by removing the hammer rest rail and letting the hammers dangle below while gluing in the new thread. When the flanges are all wooden with no brass plate, what is your favorite procedure? Is it worth replacing them with new flanges and dealing with alignment, etc? Or stick with replacing only the thread?
Any links to articles on this also appreciated.
Thanks,
Jeff Farris Piano Service
Austin, TX
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Jeff Farris
Austin TX
512-636-1914
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