CAUT

  • 1.  Grand dolly: locking?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-03-2020 00:06
    Hi all,
    I need to order a small grand spider dolly for a retirement center. The piano is frequently moved, but it will be staying on carpet.
    They're trying to save money--are locking wheels worth the upgrade? Do non-locking dollies let the piano move with aggressive pedal technique?
    Also, Schaff seems to be the cheapest source. Anywhere else I should be checking? 

    Thanks!

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    Scott Cole, RPT
    rvpianotuner.com
    Talent, OR
    (541-601-9033
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  • 2.  RE: Grand dolly: locking?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-03-2020 12:38
    We have many pianos in the building that are on spider dollies and hard floors.  No need for the locks even with our smallest pianos.  Our stage has a 1 degree slope toward the audience which requires the locks to be on.  it's one of the reasons we had to get rid of the large (and expensive) brass casters since they roll SOOOOOOO easily and some of the stage crew are less than careful about locking the casters anyway.  We miss the transition of the sound through the floor however.  You can add the locks later.  Be sure to adjust the tension which is something we have do here quite often especially since they are used with some frequency.  

    Have had very good luck with Jansen as well for supplies on this.

    Mike

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    Michael Reiter
    Eugene OR
    541-515-6499
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  • 3.  RE: Grand dolly: locking?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-03-2020 12:54
    Hi, all,

    Here’s a little trick you can try in the meantime, until you make your decisions. I’ve been using it for some years now in several different situations, and it works surprisingly well.

    Get your hands on about 10-12” of 1/8” cord, the kind that seems to be around a lot on many stages, usually black. Whether the piano is on large or small casters or on a dolly, if there’s any issue with rocking or rolling, wrap a piece of the cord firmly around the contact point where the wheel meets the floor. You can wrap around once or twice, and it doesn’t matter whether you tie or knot it. You can do one or two wheels or all three.

    It’s pretty surprising how reluctant the wheel is to start a roll when the little obstacle is in such close contact. I found years ago, in piano teaching studios with 7’ grands on dollies, that even when dolly wheels were locked, there could sometimes be an annoying little rocking back and forth while pedaling. For a while, I put a short (3 inch) section of 2x4 pine under the end of a dolly arm, so the swivel-cup bolt would bite into the wood - that worked extremely well and was quickly reversible. (It doesn’t always fit perfectly depending on the gap to the floor - sometimes you need to sand or shim the block.)

    But for stages, the cord helps sometimes and is pretty much invisible. Give it a try maybe; I hope it helps.

    Kathy




  • 4.  RE: Grand dolly: locking?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-04-2020 07:25

    Last year we bought 2 new Steinway D's.  Indeed, the brass casters are scary!  They lock easily and you can do it with your foot.  Only one has the brass casters and we call it El Brasso!






  • 5.  RE: Grand dolly: locking?

    Posted 03-04-2020 08:59
    So now from a ''retired'' perspective  I don't know how appropriate on model D pianos    the necessary  short legs with the oversize brass casters are for heavy  institutional usage with multiple daily moves back and forth on and off stage primarily by student  work study stage crew who understandably never really were invested in the minutae of  careless over tightening of these wheel locks that we have discussed on these pages before. On the pro side It is a stage handsome look for the piano........
    www.snowpianos.com

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    Martin Snow
    South Burlington VT
    617-543-1030
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  • 6.  RE: Grand dolly: locking?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-04-2020 12:04
    Hi, Paul,

    I would only say, for El Brasso, be super careful not to over tighten the caster locking mechanism, especially with the crossbar-shape “knob” that you can tighten with your foot. That will certainly strip the inside of the mechanism, it’s only a matter of time, and then it won’t lock. I’ve struggled to teach everyone who moves the piano,

    “SNUG IS GOOD - TIGHT IS BAD”

    If you go to loosen the lock yourself and find it really tight, you’ll know the message hasn’t gotten around. It doesn’t take much snugging to keep the piano from rolling.

    Kathy