IINN TTUUNNEE!!

Newsletter of the Technicians Guild, San Francisco Chapter March 2008

Calendar of Events Bill Shull – Town Hall & March Chapter Meeting 7:30pm March 4 Early Steinway Callahan Piano, 1800 Ferry Point , Bldg 14, Suite Presentation 100, Alameda. 510-835-8448. See “Contact Us” on www.callahanpiano.com for directions. Rachel Down Chapter Secretary Business meeting will include nomination of

candidates for chapter offices.

Members of the San Francisco, Golden Gate, and Technical Program - "The Keys to Good Santa Clara chapters gathered this month to gain a Work" given by Larry Lobel, RPT. Piano keys are deeper understanding of early Steinway . Bill the pianist's main connection to the instrument. Shull (PTG Regional VP) presented the technical at Keys have many components, each playing an Piedmont Piano Company in San Francisco. Jim important part in optimal interaction between Callahan started off the evening with a piano quiz, after performer and instrument. To do good action work, which all three chapters gathered for a Town Hall we need to know how to service all parts of the . meeting led by Bill Shull, at which we discussed the In the 1980s Bill Spurlock revolutionized the once role of the PTG in marketing and education. After a cumbersome job of key re-bushing with innovative break, Bill presented a technical on the Steinway continued on page 4 tools and procedures that streamlined the job and improved results. In the 1990s Bill tackled another job, key recovering , previously done only by specialists with expensive equipment. The Sounding Board He devised inexpensive fixtures that any technician can make and use to do a professional job Larry Lobel, RPT of installing new keytops. Chapter President

I'll demonstrate these techniques, which you can teach yourself from articles in back issues of the Piano Technicians Journal and instruction sheets available from Bill. If time permits, I'll You Can Do It! also show how to remove and replace key end felt This month I’ll again tell about an actual, in-the-field and backchecks, and repair of "pulley" keys (they piano experience, which may help if you find yourself slide fore-and-aft on balance pins). in a similar situation. The lesson to be learned here

Associates’ Hour (besides the particular mechanical problems and There will be NO this month. solutions), is that impossible-seeming obstacles often Written Exam Preparation Classes 7:30 pm have a solution you can figure out, if you don’t give up. Location: San Francisco State University 19th and Holloway Aves, San Francisco I recently came up against a common piano problem Creative Arts Building, Room 157 with an uncommon cause. A fine new grand made a creaking noise when depressing the sustain pedal. In

Details in the January issue of In Tune!: my experience, most pedal noises come from under (http://www.ptg.org/newsletters/941/2008/01.pdf ) the piano, in the trapwork. This one turned out, after a long and upwardly-mobile investigation, to be caused February 26 - Repairs and piano structure by a loose screw in the damper system, behind the March 11 - Miscellaneous (voicing, piano history, action. This particular screw is one of the few in the piano that’s inaccessible by ordinary means. It’s one rebuilding, etc.) and Exam Overview March 25 - If necessary (or review - if desired) NO that attaches the damper lifter tray to the belly rail. UNIVERSITY CLASSES (easy parking) Though I couldn’t see it, I could feel it moving slightly continued on page 2

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The Sounding Board - President’s Message - continued from page 1

when I pressed the pedal. I was not happy when I realized that to tighten this one little screw I’d have to take apart the whole damper and sostenuto systems!

The screw I needed to tighten is half seen here, behind the hinged wood block that’s screwed to the aluminum damper tray, going through a wood flange into an aluminum rail. The only way to get at it is to unscrew the rail from the belly and pull the whole assembly forward enough to swing the tray up high enough to get a screwdriver in. But even unscrewed, the rail can’t

move forward because it’s held in place by the all the damper wires! I was glad I didn’t have to move the damper stop rail, another adjustable system I prefer not to disturb. I did I decided it was unacceptable to remove all the lift the sustain and sostenuto pedal rods out of the individual dampers, then re-install and re-regulate the pedals and let them drop to the floor, to relieve whole system just to tighten a screw, so I resolved that pressure on the dowel and lifter that connect the I mus t find another way! After long and careful study, I trapwork to the damper systems in the keybed, and got realized I could simply(!) remove the 5 screws holding those connecting parts out of the way. Now I could the two damper guide rails onto the soundboard, then move the tray forward and rotate it upward to expose slide the guide rails, with all the dampers, forward an the loose screw. I removed the screw, put some inch or so, leaving the damper wires still attached, and Loctite Threadlocker™ on it to keep it from loosening allowing the lower back action to slide forward. I just again, and tightened it back in place. There are three had to hope that all this manipulation didn’t mess up of these brackets, and I did the same on the other two the damper regulation. screws, even though they weren’t making noise, to I’d also have to remove the sostenuto blade with its avoid future problems. four brackets, and the connector attaching the blade to the trapwork. If I removed only the lower brackets, After carefully reassembling everything in reverse with screws going into threaded holes, the adjustment order, I recited a silent prayer before checking of the system should stay undisturbed. I didn’t touch everything out. Thankfully, the creaking was gone, and the upper brackets that attach the system to the belly the damper and sostenuto systems worked fine. It rail, because those screws go through long slots to took about an hour to disassemble everything and an allow vertical adjustment, and I wanted to avoid hour to put it back together. This was a lot better than disturbing any adjustments. While doing all this the 6 to 8 hours it would have taken to undo and re-do disassembly and moving things around in ways they the entire system. Oh yes, it took 5 seconds to tighten weren’t intended to move, I tried to do everything very the screw. I won’t say how long it took to figure out slowly and carefully, to make sure I didn’t bend any how to do it. wires or brackets. continued on next page

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The Sounding Board - President’s Message - continued Books On Line Rob Mitchell

More and more books are becoming available as schools and universities scan their libraries. Most of these are out of copyright and can therefore be freely distributed. Recent postings on the pianotech chat list noted some relevant piano books including Modern and Allied Arts by William Braid White.

Annie Grieshop has taken it on herself to maintain a list of these books on her website at: http://www.allthingspiano.com/pdbooks.htm . The same link to her page can also be found at the bottom of the Library page on our SF PTG website for future Screwdriver can finally get at the hidden screw reference.



The Intentional Technician

6/18-6/22 • 51 st Annual PTG Convention & Technical Institute • Anaheim, CA www.ptg.org/conv/2008

Hands-On Classes and Skills Session: • Are You Regulationally Challenged? • Basic Principles of Action Regulation • Vertical Regulation and Reality • Equal Beating Historical Temperaments Side view of damper tray pulled out from belly rail • Tool Sharpening • Twin Dollies-installation  • String Replacement • The Joy of Key-Bushing • Back to Basics – Center Pinning, Traveling, Nominations for Officers Squaring At the January chapter meeting the Nominating • Recapping an Upright Bass Bridge Committee was reconstituted for this year, with Brenda • Working with Music Wire Meng and Chan Bartlett generously volunteering to • Pedaling from the Ground UP serve on it. They subsequently polled the current • Prepping the Pacific Rim Piano for the American chapter officers and learned that all are willing to serve Market another term in their current offices. • Tying the Tuner’s Knot • Vertical Madness Other members who would like to be involved in • What’s this Tool for Anyway? keeping our chapter running, influencing policies or • Damper Installation Made Easy activities, contributing your time and talents to our • The Grand Action: Assessment to Touch Design wonderful organization, enjoying the perks of holding • office, etc., are welcome to run against any Extreme Tuning Levers • incumbent. Nominations for office will be accepted at CAUT – Maintaining the High-Use Concert Piano • the March meeting. You don't have to be at the Voicing Tutoring Tuning Tutoring • meeting to be nominated. You can nominate yourself, ETSC - Tuning Hands-on and Ears-on Mentoring or delegate another member to nominate you, or • ETSC – Regulation and Repair Hands-on Mentoring submit your name to chapter secretary Rachel Down.  

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Chapter Meeting - continued from page 1 Monitor (Iron Grand) and other Steinway models which warehouse were a late 19th century Steinway model A were developed during the post-Civil War era. The and model B, and he challenged us to find something information presented included drawings which they had in common that he had never encountered accompanied many of the patent applications for these before. An apparent clue accompanying the model B models; most astounding was the double-plate design was a bill of sale from a 1976 restoration. Twenty-five of an early upright. Bill's expert research on these technicians crawled over, under and around the pianos fascinating pianos built from 1856-1886 was and submitted entries with detailed technical educational for all. comparisons of bridges, plates, music racks, lyres, etc.

The winning entry, submitted by Randy Chastain of the Golden Gate chapter, pointed out that both pianos had had their serial numbers altered! The model B had a "1" added on the front end, making the piano appear to have been made in 1919 rather than the actual date of manufacture of 1899. The model A had the third digit altered, which made it seem 13 years younger than it was. This was apparently done to deceive buyers into thinking the pianos were newer, and thus sell them for higher prices. These elaborate pretenses were perpetrated by piano rebuilders of many years ago; we hope this unscrupulous type of behavior doesn't happen in our times!

(This meeting replaced our regular chapter meeting, so there are no February meeting minutes) 

Tell Us Your Story A recent edition of the Syracuse Chapter Newsletter included a mini biography of one of their longtime members. This was a very interesting read and laid out many of the challenges and rewards this gentleman had enjoyed.

Why not tell your story? We’d like to get this going as a way to better know each other and perhaps learn what others have found to be best practices to a successful career.

Just submit your biography and we’ll run it in an upcoming issue. Or, if you’re uncomfortable writing it yourself, we can even arrange for an interview-style write-up.

Is there other news about yourself or your business that you would like to share? Here’s a recent article in the SF Chronicle that references both John Callahan and Douglas Braak: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi- bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2008/01/26/HO5UTQ0QK.DTL&h w=piano&sn=003&sc=663 (click the small photo’s on the upper right of the site for additional info). PPCo owner Jim Callahan added some excitement to the evening when he posed a puzzler to us; in his 

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Chapter Officers & Contacts Written Exam Preparation Classes Israel Stein, RPT leads one of the series of Written President Exam Prep classes being given at San Francisco State Larry Lobel, RPT (707) 762-5800 University. The classes have been well attended by [email protected] Associates on the road to RPT, including Craig Browning, Matthew Callahan, Rachel Down, Sudhira Hay, Jill Horne, Michael Landes of the Santa Clara Vice President chapter, Brenda Meng, Rob Mitchell, and Francisco Frank French, RPT (415) 731-8611 Noa. [email protected]

Treasurer Douglas Braak (415) 255-4737 [email protected]

Secretary Rachel Down (415) 503-8094 [email protected]

Chapter Librarian Mark Skowronek, RPT (415) 864-4688 [email protected]

 Webmaster & Newsletter Rob Mitchell (415) 994-1030 [email protected] Classified Ads Contact [email protected] to add or remove listings

IN TUNE ! is a monthly publication of the - San Francisco Chapter. It is For Sale distributed free of charge via e-mail or in paper for For Sale: Studio Uprights: 1 Baldwin Hamilton (mahogany), 2 $15/year to non-members without e-mail. Wurlitzers (white oak, teak). $350. San Francisco State University surplus pianos. Call 415-338-6133 or 510-558-0777 or e-mail Deadline for newsletter submissions is 12 DAYS [email protected] before the first Tuesday of the coming month. The    newsletter will usually be distributed 10 days before From Piedmont Piano Company the upcoming Chapter Meeting. Jim Callahan, RPT, owner

For over 28 years offering the finest new and used pianos. New Chapter website: www.ptg.org/chapters/sanfrancisco Yamaha, Fazioli, and Bechstein pianos. Fine used pianos from the Send suggestions, contributions, or advertisements to world's great makers, specializing in vintage Steinways. We stock the secretary or webmaster. the largest selection of fine used grand pianos in Northern California

As many SF chapter members know, we have worked for years with Disclaimer: All expressions of opinion and all state- PTG members and their customers to provide the finest instruments ments of supposed fact are published on the authority at the most reasonable prices. of the author as listed, and are not to be regarded as Current used inventory includes: expressing the view of the Chapter or the Piano Hamburg Steinway B 1908 - We have just completed an exhaustive Technicians Guild, Inc., unless such statements or restoration including polished ebony finish, Stanwood system action opinions have been adopted by the Chapter or the and brand new ivory keys. This piano is in perfect condition. It has Piano Technicians Guild, Inc. the beautiful clear sound which is unique to the German built Steinways and the perfectly balanced action makes it a joy to play.

continued on last page

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Classified Ads - continued

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For the first time the Well-Tempered Clavier can be heard in the explicitly-stated, 18th Century well temperament that allows the characteristic of each major and minor key to emerge as intended during the time of the composer. A subtle but certain difference is apparent when this music is played in this authentic tuning.

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Piano Technicians Guild – SF Chapter c/o Rob Mitchell 17 Perego Terrace #8 San Francisco, CA 94131

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If you received this by US Mail and have an e-mail address, you can save your PTG Chapter’s money by electing e- mail delivery instead. Please contact Rob Mitchell to make this change (contact information listed inside) SF PTG Newsletter IN TUNE ! 6