[AT] OT - using pitchfork

[George Willer]

Larry,

I'm not really sure due to CRS, but I think my 1916 Kimball was originally
tuned to A-435.  When I rebuilt it I tuned it to A-440.  It's probably way
off from correct, but it is, after all a honky tonk piano that sounds good
to me when the added mandolin rail is used.  :-)  The Fischer-Ampico is
quite another matter.  It's tuning is long overdue. Did I play it when you
were here?

George Willer

> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com [mailto:at-
> bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Larry D. Goss
> Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 10:22 PM
> To: 'Antique tractor email discussion group'
> Subject: RE: [AT] OT - using pitchfork
> 
> Once a piano goes "out" significantly, it takes several tunings over
> time to get it back in tune so it will stay.  Typically, four tunings
> over a two-year period will do it provided that it is located in an
> occupied house (so heat and humidity are reasonably constant) and not
> located in direct sunlight or against an outside wall.  Most people just
> won't put out that much money to put a 100-year old piano back in shape.
> Chickerings were good, but...  I warn customers ahead of time that if
> the piano is too far out of tune, all I can hope for is to make it
> better.  But when I'm done, there will still be some inaccuracies in the
> tuning. I try to bring the whole piano "up" at once, but the harp will
> still warp during the tuning process and cause notes that have already
> been tuned to go flat.
> 
> Old pianos have a tendency to get corrosion on the strings, and that
> really affects the tone.  I can polish the trebles (triple-string notes)
> but there is nothing short of replacing the copper-wound bass strings to
> bring their response back to original.  The oxide that builds up on them
> causes a loss of overtones and that makes the whole bass end sound
> muddy.  It has the same effect as when the drummer for a rock band fills
> his bass drum with terry towels from the bathroom.  That changes a tuned
> bass into a dull thud.
> 
> Some tuners take the easy way out and just put an old piano back in tune
> with itself rather than try to bring it up to pitch.  That's also
> guaranteed to leave an unhappy customer because the overtones on the
> whole keyboard that give a piano its brilliance just won't be there.
> 
> Enough already.  This is more than you really wanted to know about piano
> tuning.
> 
> Larry
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From: at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com
> [mailto:at-bounces at lists.antique-tractor.com] On Behalf Of Mike Sloane
> Sent: Monday, February 06, 2006 5:40 PM
> To: Antique tractor email discussion group
> Subject: Re: [AT] OT - using pitchfork
> 
> 
> 
> Larry D. Goss wrote:
> > Tuning pin tightener.
> >
> > FWIW, this is a common problem in pianos.  Tuning pins are only held
> in
> > by friction and when the maple dries out over time they loosen up and
> > the piano will no longer hold its tune.  There is a product made to
> > solve the problem.  It's called Tuning Pin Tightener.  Anybody can
> make
> > it though; it's a 50/50 mixture of alcohol and glycerin.  I use Solox
> > for the alcohol, but any source will do.
> We had an antique Chickoring upright with that problem, and that is how
> the tuner fixed things. But it still wouldn't hold the tune. We had a
> hard time finding a home for that instrument, even giving it away. It
> must have weighed close to 1000 lbs and took 4 very big guys to move it.
> >
> > If you have a really large gap in the handle, then apply some Gorilla
> > Glue to the application before you insert the tang in the hole.  This
> is
> > an expanding weatherproof glue that can be used to reconstruct wood
> > after it has been miss cut.  The more it's constrained while it's
> > setting, the more dense the resulting joint.  Available at Home Depot
> > and other such places.
> Yes, Gorilla glue is great stuff, but once you put it on a handle, you
> will never get it off if the handle breaks. Also, use rubber gloves when
> 
> working with the stuff, or it will turn your fingers black where it
> sits. (Don't ask me how I know this!)
> 
> Mike
> >
> > Larry
> >
> 
> --
> Mike Sloane
> Allamuchy NJ
> mikesloane at verizon.net
> Website: <www.geocities.com/mikesloane>
> Images: <www.fotki.com/mikesloane>
> 
> Truth is not only violated by falsehood; it may be equally outraged by
> silence.  -Henri Frederic Amiel philosopher and writer (1821-1881)
> 
> 
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