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Vertigris?

  • 1.  Vertigris?

    Posted 13 days ago

    1983?  Wurlitzer B. Grand #1720371-----  Been "CLP-ing"  hammer flanges each year for the past 10 years because customer didn't want to pay for re-pinning.  He's now ready to "bite the bullet" so-to-speak after too much frustration.  He is, however dithering over whether to repin the entire piano or only those problem keys (quite a few).   I can't remember who built this piano, or whether it is one known to have vertigris issues or not. Can anyone enlighten me?  

    Also -- Having never re-pinned an entire set of hammer flanges, any suggestions for speeding the process to make it a bit more economical for him?  (I've re-pinned a few here and there as needed before, but never the entire set.)

    Lastly-- how long should I allow for 88 hammer flanges? 

    TIA--

    Tim



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    Timothy Edwards
    Beckley WV
    (740) 517-7636
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  • 2.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    This piano is likely either a Samick or Young Chang.  It's not likely to have vertigris, as we have seen in old Steinways.  These flanges were dipped in a tallow solution, which later proved to cause corrosion of the pins and excess friction.  You will have to ream and repin the flanges.  I had a situation years ago when I had a YC action that was sluggish.  I tried a variety of methods, including heat, shrinking with alcohol/water, using a Zapper, and actual repinning.  The only solution that worked permanently was repinning.  I would suggest numbering the hammers and removing every other one for repinning.  This will help in aligning them when you remount the flanges.  When you remove the pins, you'll likely see a dark ring where they set into the bushing felt.  Sometimes the dye leaches out of the felt and dries on the pin, which causes the problem, or maybe excess glue.  I would guess this would take about 2-3 hours.



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    Paul McCloud, RPT
    Accutone Piano Service
    www.AccutonePianoService.com
    pavadasa@gmail.com
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  • 3.  RE: Vertigris?

    Posted 13 days ago

    Paul and Wim, 

    Any suggestions for a good center pin nipper?   I've used side cutters in the past, but haven't been very impressed with the results.  (Had to push the pin out a bit on one side, cut it and then push it back in.  It performed just fine, but I'm wondering if another tool would give a cleaner cut.) 

    --- Tim



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    Timothy Edwards
    Beckley WV
    (740) 517-7636
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  • 4.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    I use the flush-cutting style nippers (around $75 I think). More expensive, but they work much better in my opinion. But - do NOT use them for cutting voicing needles! That will ruin them. Don't ask me how I know that. 



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    Benjamin Sanchez, RPT
    Piano Technician / Artisan
    (256) 947-9999
    www.professional-piano-services.com
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  • 5.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12 days ago
    At our last chapter meeting, Mike Reiter showed us his method for repinning. He said it takes him about 90” or so per rail (doesn’t include rebushing though). The key is to find the small efficiencies that add up over 88 flanges. If you are going to convention in Reno. Reiter will be giving the same class, if you can wait till July.

    It’s not a job I do very often, but the last time I did it took me about 3 hours. I could probably get it down to 2, as I was being careful and methodical.




  • 6.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12 days ago
    Paul McCloud,

    I enjoy your posts and wisdom. 

    Three hours for 88 hammers ?   That's two minutes a flange.
    Is that including removing and replacing?  I like your advise to do every other flange for alignment.

    I would think it would take me at least five minutes per flange. Including removing and replacing.

    I'm old, I'm slow, maybe I can't see too good.  Also I would caution, sometimes no matter how careful you are, a thirty or forty year old piano, sometimes those bushings come out.  It's nice to have a few extra flanges laying around , if you have to stop and re bush this adds time.

    I have a client with a similar issue, only it's in the back action.  Re pining  two or three damper flanges every appointment.  I've learned to add an hour at least every time he calls me. 

    Timothy Edwards,

     eight hours would be about five minutes a hammer.  Put a timer on yourself and see how long it is going to take you.  If you finish sooner, fix something else or go home early.

    Steve Blasyak 





  • 7.  RE: Vertigris?

    Member
    Posted 12 days ago
    Steve,,
    Dale Erwin showed me how to "production line" a job like this. 
    It's 4 hours from when you first see the piano to when you hand them the bill. 
    Never do one at a time. That takes 3 times longer. 
    You can lay about 1/4 the flanges in the keybed, in order, 
    remove every other one. 
    It's worth having the right tools to remove the pin. You can roll a pin with a file and use a pin vise but the Mannino ones are good. 
    It's easy to do 1/4 the hammers in 25 minutes.
    Your consistency flange to flange will be better





  • 8.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago
    It's all or none. No  arguments. 
    Or put it to him in a language he understands. 
    $XX to do all of the pins now. $XX times 2 or 3, to come back to do future ones, one at a time. 

    Wim





  • 9.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    Tim,

    If you haven't really done this before you had better allow a lot more time. 8 hrs...possibly more. You nay also find more things wrong once you start. These types of jobs tend to chew up lots of time. 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 10.  RE: Vertigris?

    Posted 13 days ago

    Peter,

    Given that time estimate, I'm debating possibly removing the action stack and taking it to my house to do this work.  That way I can take a break when things become too tedious (and rest my arthritic hands).  Just have to measure to be sure it'll fit in our Honda HRV.  (Probably will.  My piano tilter just fits.)  I'd prefer to avoid transporting the entire keyboard/action assembly.  Just too bulky to load and unload in our SUV.   I can't think of any down side to doing it that way, but perhaps I'm missing something. 

    --- Tim



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    Timothy Edwards
    Beckley WV
    (740) 517-7636
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  • 11.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    You don't want to camp out in someone's living room to do this. Also, I'd reconsider not bringing the keyboard along as ultimately you're working with all the resistance in the system. If it's nearby maybe you know someone with a better vehicle or maybe even the piano's owner. Sometimes I'll separate the action from the keyframe into two easier to handle loads.

    Expanding on Peter's advice, if the hammer flanges are tight, the jack, repetition, and whippen flanges are likely tighter than they need to be as well, worth checking anyway. If you haven't applied cpl to those it would be a good idea while you've got it on the bench. (make sure you have an ample supply of the right sized center pins.) 



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    Steven Rosenthal RPT
    Honolulu HI
    (808) 521-7129
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  • 12.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12 days ago

    Timothy, one needs to be careful. I have put a top action in my Prius in the passenger seat. Lean back the seat back and put one end in the foot well.



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    Larry Messerly, RPT
    Bringing Harmony to Homes
    www.lacrossepianotuning.com
    ljmesserly@gmail.com
    928-899-7292
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  • 13.  RE: Vertigris?

    Member
    Posted 12 days ago
    I have done this.
    I laid a moving blanket on the piano bench, You need a chair. Place the action on the piano bench
    Remove every other flange and lay as many as you can, in order, across the action cavity. That's your work bench, Have a magnet for the pins that get loose
    To make the time, you do each tool job to all the flanges you lay out. Doing each flange individually takes way more time. Changing the tool in your hand is what takes up the time. 
    Obviously the more you can layout the faster it is but it's hard to have that big of a work space. 
    Punch out the pins. Ream the flanges to what your samples indicated. Push in a new pin. Check swings. Use a lighter to burnish the felt. I like burnishing because you don't have to cut as much felt in the reaming process. Cut the pins off. Reinstall flanges.
    I figure 2 to 3 hours for the repinning but by the time you align everything and make adjustments, you will have 4 hours into the job. 
    The client will be amazed at how well it plays and the difference in tonal quality, power, etc.
    Good luck





  • 14.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 11 days ago

    As Keith said, if you repeat a single operation at a time on each part the work will go much faster. It also really helps to have quality tools for the job, in this case a good center pin end nipper, Mannino reamer/burnishers and WNG pinning tool. Anybody and everybody dealing with this would do well to look up Don Mannino's post from a few years ago over on the pianoworld forums where he gave a very detailed explanation of the specific problems causing the problem on these pianos. 

    The steps are:

    Remove parts from rail

    Punch out pins

    Ream

    Burnish vigorously, swinging the shank on the tool to check your progress. You want to generate friction and heat to stabilize the bushings.

    Insert new pin, checking fit as you go by swinging the shank on the two bushings individually for roughly twice the number of swings you ultimately want on the finished part (10-12 swings on each side of the bushing will usually give ~ 5-6 swings once pinned together)

    Cut pins

    Reassemble 

    The first few pins is where you hone in on the correct reamer and burnisher sizes. I often ream one or two sizes smaller than the final pin size, then burnish with the final pin size or perhaps one size up. Ultimately this will depend on the original fit as well as the properties of the cloth. In general, ream conservatively and burnish aggressively. Often the bass and treble sides will require slightly different techniques to achieve the same friction levels, but this is generally uniform across the whole set. If the existing pinning is all original you can often simply use one size larger all the way through and not have to spend extra time finding the correct size for every flange. A drop of Fomblin (from supply88) will add a swing or two if they come out a little on the tight side. Like Keith I do this using the keybed as a bench doing every other flange one section at a time and plan on about 2 hours start to finish, though it will likely take you longer the first time. 



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    Mark Dierauf RPT
    Concord NH
    (603) 225-4652
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  • 15.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    I've always used the side nippers from the supply houses.  Even if they stick out a little, it's usually nothing to worry about.  I've never had a problem with them. 

    As far as removing the rail, I might suggest just removing the stack instead.  You don't want to install the rail even a mm off where it was before you moved it.  It would be easier to align the flanges after removing them if you have everything sitting there.  I have a small Ford Focus where I'll put an action stack or upright action on the passenger floorboard and rest the other end on the seat back. 



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    Paul McCloud, RPT
    Accutone Piano Service
    www.AccutonePianoService.com
    pavadasa@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 16.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    I file the cut-end flat with a small mill file but that's just me.



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    Steven Rosenthal RPT
    Honolulu HI
    (808) 521-7129
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  • 17.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago
    Tim

    I just realized that this was a piano made by Young Chang. Those instruments have a very bad reputation with pinning. Just repinning the flanges is not going to permanently solve the verdigris problem. And, as Peter pointed out, there is a very good chance that in addition to the hammer flanges, other centers, the jacks, wippens and damper flanges, are also going to start sticking. In fact, they might be a problem already, but you just haven't noticed it yet. 

    I know you're trying to make your customer happy by charging as little as possible. But it might be time to have a very heart to heart talk about his piano. You need to explain that repinning the hammer flanges is just the tip of the iceberg, and that there is going to be more work to be done in the near future. 

    Wim





  • 18.  RE: Vertigris?

    Posted 13 days ago
    Tim,
    In the vertigris study the CT PTG chapter did and published in the Journal, the study found that the household cleaner Fantastik definitely freed up the friction caused by vertigris. As someone pointed out, this is not a vertigris problem and I agree. However, I have privately tested Fantastik on similar situations as the one you have encountered and the soaking of the bushing cloth with Fantastik worked beautifully. One needs to allow the Fantastik 12 to 24 hours to wick off before everything is operating smoothly. 
    Try it on one flange if you're hesitant. A drop or two from a hypo oiler is all that is needed.

    Doug Mahard





  • 19.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 13 days ago

    Tim,

    The approach I would take with the owner is to gather several printed "discussions" on this matter (perhaps an earlier one right from this platform) and hand it all to him and say: "Before I agree to tackle this, you need to read all of this so you know what's involved and why". 

    The reason for the above is that it's not really a matter of money (per se) but rather a matter of trust. They need to be fully convinced of the validity of the situation, that you're not making any of it up, and that there is the possibility that it could be worse than it appears right now. It carries greater authority when coming from the "mouths" of others rather than you (no matter how much he likes and trusts you). He needs to understand that it is a very widespread problem resulting from some manufacturing process and has nothing to do with anything he did or you did. It just IS...and it's a PAIN IN THE NECK (literally) to fix.  Then he needs to commit to paying you for whatever time and materials are required for the job (it's only fair).

    Personally, I would use SS pre-cut center pins as a replacement. They are EXPENSIVE (customer pays for this) but they will eliminate two steps of the procedure (cutting the ends), eliminate any distortion of the ends from the cutting, and if there is any contamination of any sort in there they will not expose an alloy to it, basically sealing up any chemical reaction from occurring later. 

    I agree that testing the chemical treatment contained in the "fantastik" is an option to suggest, however the time tested reliable method has proven to be the more labor intensive re-pinning procedure. (Offer to do one right in front of him so he understands what's involved, then multiply by 88 or possibly 264).

    The point here is simply that this is not your fault, nor his fault, and there is no reliable "shortcut" to remedy this and you need to be paid whatever it takes to fix it. Otherwise he'll need to live with it or replace the piano with a better one. 

    EDIT: Is there any possibility that this ALSO has growing bracket problems? 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 20.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12 days ago

    Tim,

    You can also take side cutters to a grinding wheel and grind the side down flush to the cutting blades. This is fine for center pins. I've been using mine for years



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    Tremaine Parsons RPT
    Georgetown CA
    (530) 333-9299
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  • 21.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 12 days ago
    The only solution that ever consistently and permanently cured verdigris for me is to rebush and repin the hammer centers. It works, but to be complete, it would be necessary to repin all the action centers, in which case I'm not sure it's more economical than new parts. I use Renner graphited and pre-glued bushing cloth with the reamer tool that they sell. I don't follow their procedure for activating the glue,  but rather use the traditional procedure with wood glue as if there were no dry glue already in the cloth.

    Paul Larudee, RPT





  • 22.  RE: Vertigris?

    Posted 11 days ago

    Thanks to all for the great advice!  After further consideration, I've decided to "farm" this one out.  I wouldn't mind doing the work, but I'm not sure my arthritic hands would hold up to the many hours of fine work required for this.  I've contacted a local rebuilder to do the job.  Again, many thanks! 



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    Timothy Edwards
    Beckley WV
    (740) 517-7636
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  • 23.  RE: Vertigris?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 11 days ago

    Tim,

    Probably the course of wisdom. Good call. 

    Peter Grey Piano Doctor 



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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    (603) 686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------