Plastic Elbow Replacement (For Spinet Pianos)

Plastic Elbow Replacement

Many spinet pianos manufactured during the 1950’s and 1960’s  were outfitted with plastic parts which after decades of use begin to weaken and break.  One of the most common of plastic parts to fail is what’s known as an elbow-an integral part of many spinets.

If the elbows in your spinet are beginning to break, I would suggest having a professional piano technician install a complete set of high-quality snap-on drop lifter elbows to fix the problem for once and for all.

The reason the elbows begin to break in the first place is when the spinets were manufactured in the 1950’s plastic parts were just beginning to make their way into many small pianos.  The benefit of long-term observation of the durability of plastics was not yet available, and certain characteristics of the plastic formulations being used at the time would not be realized for years to come. The quality of the plastic just wasn't as good as the plastics today.  One problem with these older plastics is the chemical which was put into the mixture of the plastic to solidify the part would eventually harden the plastic to the point of brittleness.  Elbows are subjected to continuous stress every time the piano is played. Breakage begins to occur when a set of elbows have turned brittle with age.

So should you replace just the broken plastic elbow?  My advise is even if only a few elbows are broken, you should replace the entire set.   More elbows will break over time and you will have to have your piano fixed over and over again.  Imagine you purchased an automobile with a set of bald tires. One tire blows out and must be replaced.  Would it be wise to replace the other three at the same time?  Certainly it would, because the other three would be near the end of their useful life as well. Whether the remaining bald tires would fail or not would not be the question, only when. The original elbows which still remain these spinets will continue to break if they are not replaced.  Only by the installation of a new set of elbows may the problem be fixed on a permanent basis.  

The first step in installing new elbows is to break each elbow off close to the wooden wippen, the part in the lower area of the piano action which the elbow connects to.  The old elbows were connected to the wippen with a brass pin, which the new snap-on plastic elbows will be connected to.  Before that may be done, however, the remaining portion of the old elbow must be carefully broken away and removed from the wippen.  This is a delicate step and one that calls for an experienced hand.  If too much pressure is applied in breaking away the remnants of the old elbows, the thin wooden wings on either side of the slot in the wippen may be easily broken.  If this happens, it greatly compounds the amount of work which needs to be done.  Fixing broken wippens is a more serious problem, often requiring the removal of the action from the piano.  This is a repair that needs to be done by an experienced piano technician.  

After the remnants of the old plastic elbows are broken away from the lifter wires, the new Snap-On elbows are individually screwed onto the threaded lifter wires to an exact depth.  The lifter wires with the new elbows attached are then re-installed in the piano.  Working from underneath the key bed, the buttons are positioned in the slot at the back of the keys, and the new elbows are firmly snapped into place on the brass center pins of the wippens.  

Once the lifter wires with attached elbows have been installed, adjustments will need to be made to the amount of ‘lost motion’ that each is now given to prevent hammers from either bubbling or from blocking up against the springs.  With new elbows installed, and regulation buttons adjusted, all hammers are ready to fire.

If you have an older spinet piano that is starting to have problems with the plastic elbows breaking, please give us a call at 801-701-0113 or visit us at brighamlarsonpianos.com.  Our piano technicians can fix the problem once and for all.  We also do other piano repairs and tunings and offer trade-in’s if you would like to upgrade the upright or grand piano you already have! Maintaining your piano with properly done repair work will help you to enjoy playing your instrument for years to come!
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Bridle Strap Replacement-an in depth view

BRIDLE STRAP REPLACEMENT

Bridle straps have a primary and a secondary purpose. One function of the bridle strap is to help the hammer assembly in coming back to rest after playing a note. Although this is a redundant feature, in that there is a part called the hammer butt spring that ensures that the hammer returns to rest, it becomes important in instances where a spring has slipped out, or is weak or broken. When the hammer does not return to rest, the hammer is likely hit wrong when the key presses down.

The most important function of the bridle straps, however, is that they help to hold the piano action together so that a piano technician can remove it and replace it back in the piano without damage. If bridle straps are missing, servicing the action is a real problem, in that removal and reinstallation of the action may easily result in broken parts when the action placed back in the piano.

Lots of things can go wrong in removing a piano action with broken bridle straps. For instance, if you were to take the piano action out for servicing find bridle straps broken or missing, the lower part of the the mechanism (the wippen) will swing down. (see picture 1)

 

At the same time, the part of the action which rests upon the key will also swing down too far. This is where trouble can occur. (see picture 2)

When a bridle strap is missing and you put the action back into to the piano, the jack (the vertical part) is prone to jamming up against the underside of the hammer butt.

In such a situation, if you push the action into place with a bit too much force the lower flange can easily break from the excess pressure, necessitating replacement. (see picture 4)

With new bridle straps installed, removing the action for necessary maintenance doesn't cause a problem, in that the wippen is held correctly in the right place. (see picture 5)

The lower flange is not exposed to undue stress when putting the action back into to the piano, saving time and the money of unwanted repairs. (see picture 6)

While you do not have to replace all the straps once they start breaking, it does make a lot of sense. When the braiding in the original straps deteriorates to the point where they start to break, all of them will be prone to breakage in the future if they are not replaced. By having the old bride straps removed entirely and replaced with a new set, you've made sure that the piano action is easy to properly service for decades to come. Plus, you won't end up with a mismatched set of straps that is the result of a number of technicians replacing a few broken straps at a time.

This would not be repair which a regular piano owner would be able to tackle. The piano action is a complicated mechanism involving thousands of parts, where more things can easily go wrong than right for the average do-it-yourselfer. Needing just a few broken parts replaced would easily exceed the cost of having new bridle straps replaced.

The repair would be accomplished by removing the old braid straps to prevent them from interfering in the working mechanism of the action. Depending on the type of action your piano has, either cork, spring clip, or original braided bridle straps are then installed. Once the new set of straps is in place, your piano technician will make adjustments to see that the action is held together correctly, therefore preventing unnecessary damage to the action when removed and replaced for servicing.

If your pianos bridle straps have begun to break, the most effective repair is to replace the entire set at once by a certified piano technician. For this job, the action (working mechanism) of the piano would need to be removed and transported to our shop at Brigham Larson Pianos. You can call us at 801-701-0113 and we would be glad to find a convenient time to schedule the work in order to complete this job or any other piano repair you may have. We can get your grand or upright piano sounding great again! Or, if you are ready to upgrade or trade in your used piano to a new one, we offer many options. We are Utah's exclusive Hailun Piano Dealer!
#pianorepair #piano

Hammer Head Filing-an in depth look

Hammer Head Filing

See our article at http://brighamspianoservice.com/depth-look-hammer-head-filing/ for a brief introduction to hammer head filing.

The hammers in a piano are somewhat like the mallets used to play a xylophone, except that in a piano each of the 88 notes of the instrument has its own separate mallet, of hammer. When a key is played, the chosen hammer swings on a pivot point and strikes the strings, resulting in a tone. Hammers, strings and soundboard are the three vital factors in the quality of this tone.

Of these three components of tone production, the hammer heads over time often become the weakest link. The hammers of the acoustic piano receive more punishment than any other part inside the action of the piano. They take a beating, day-in, day-out basis. Over time, they will begin to wear out. It is a slow but steady process.

However, there is good news! Frequently a set of hammers, even on many older piano, can be given a new lease on life with a careful filing. While in cases of severe wear and tear, hammers sometimes must be duplicated and replaced (a more costly procedure), usually hammer heads can be improved and returned to service.

In the picture below (to the right), you will notice the outer surface of the hammer head is rounded smoothly. The striking surface has no indentation. Over time, as the hammer repeatedly strikes the steel strings of the note it is matched with, the metal strings begin to bite into the stiff felt of the hammer. As more and more fibers in the hammer are broken over time, the cuts become deeper and deeper.

When a hammer with deep cuts from years of hard playing strikes it has a mushy feel. The felt of the hammer, instead of delivering a clean blow to the strings, wraps around the strings upon point of impact producing an unsatisfactory tone. Compare the tone made by a hammer in this condition to that which would be produced by an accomplished violinist trying to play her instrument while wearing a wooly mitten on her left hand. No matter her level of skill, the results would be poor. The good news is that this outer wear layer is covering good felt underneath. If enough of the original felt remains, a skillful reshaping in combination with careful voicing can return much of what has been lost in the tonal quality of the piano.

These cut marks will effect the tone negatively because the broken fibers in the hammer head have no tension, and the hammer over time becomes encased in a mushy, dead layer of felt, which does not have the resiliency, or bounce, of its original surface. What's more, if the cuts are allowed to deepen, the hammer does not impart a clean blow to the strings, but instead wraps around the strings, producing a tone that is inferior in comparison with how the piano sounded when new. Skillful shaping of hammers done by a professional can produce very positive results, if enough of the original felt remains to work with.

A hammer that has been carefully will strike the strings with a clean blow, delivering maximum power to the strings without producing the weird overtones created by a worn hammer as the felt "fingers" wrap around the strings. When skillfully done, reshaping a set of hammers by filing off the wear layer may produce a drastic improvement in tone. There are other considerations which need to be accounted for, such as a slight lessening of the mass of the hammer and a change in the distance of the hammer line to the strings plus the voicing that should be done in conjunction with shaping,and this work should only be done by a professional piano technician. By hiring a qualified technician to do this work, you are making a wise decision in keeping your piano performing up to its potential.

Not every set of hammers can be reconditioned by filing. If they have suffered extreme wear and tear resurfacing would be impossible. Although it is at times a judgment call whether there is enough felt left to work with, there are times in which there is no use in trying to do anything with a set of hammers that has long out-lasted its usefulness. The hammers on your instrument  are probably not in such a sorry shape and may be successfully filed, a more economical repair than total replacement.  The work could be done either in your home or in a workshop, whichever suits you the best. While it is necessary to remove the action from the piano, it is at times possible to work on the hammers in a client's home.

Is this a job that someone could do themselves? While there are a few simple maintenance chores that every piano owner should know how to perform (such as knowing how to adjust the sustain pedal), filing hammers would definitely not be on the list of projects for a do-it-yourselfer to try. A badly done filing of a set of hammers would do far more harm than good to the tonal qualities of a piano. Gauging exactly how much felt to remove to achieve the best results takes a skillful hand and eye that come with experience.

The sanding technique involves a great deal of practice to perfect and should only be performed by a professional. In addition to filing, voicing the hammers will be needed to complete the job. This involved using special tools to adjust the hardness of the hammers.

If you would like to learn more about hammer head filing, or would like to schedule a tuning or repair from one of our expert technicians, please give us a call at 801-701-0113 or visit our website at brighamlarsonpianos.com. We would love to discuss the best maintenance program for you and your pianos to get it sounding its very best! We also carry a variety of new and used pianos if you are looking to upgrade the piano you already have.

#piano #pianorepair

More on Piano Voicing

PIANO VOICING

One of the best things you can do to take care of your piano is scheduling regular piano tunings and making sure your piano is well regulated.  (See our article on tuning and regulation http://brighamspianoservice.com/piano-regulation/).  The next step would be deciding to have “voicing” done on your piano.  Voicing  is the best way to change the tone of your  new or used piano.   Voicing can change how  rich, full, or bright  your piano sounds.  It can also restore your piano’s own unique “voice,” which can fade with time and use.

There are several things that will be looked at when you have a voicing done.  For example, if the tone is too loud or bright, your piano technician would soften the hammers by inserting needles into specific areas to make the hammers more flexible.  Or if the tone on your grand  or upright piano is too weak, or too mellow, the hammer heads would need to be hardened. This can be done by adding a chemical solution to the felt to harden it.  Your piano technician will  also check your hammer heads to make sure they are smooth and even and file them down as necessary. (see our article on hammer head filing http://brighamspianoservice.com/hammer-head-filing/)

Once the tone of your piano has been addressed, your technician would check each individual note to make sure the tone is even throughout the entire piano.

If you are ready for the next step in getting your piano sounding the best ever, give us a call at 801-701-0113.  We serve all of Utah and can assist you with all your piano needs!
#piano #pianorepair

Piano Voicing

What is Voicing?

The best thing you can do for your piano is to schedule regular piano tunings-it will keep your piano at the right pitch.   But what if the “tone” of your piano isn’t sounding the way you would like it to? There is a procedure called  “tone regulating”or “voicing” that can be done to fix this!

Every used and new piano has it's own distinct voice.  Did you know this "voice" can be modified by a piano technician to fit your liking?   For example, if you were a concert pianist, you may want a more dark and rich tone. If you were a jazz pianist-you may want a more lively, bright tone for your piano.  

Another reason you may want a voicing done is if the tone in the lower half of your piano varies from the top half, or if your piano has lost it's ability to play "softly"-these are other things that can be fixed by voicing.

If you find your piano doesn't sounding as “bright” as it did when you purchased it, or you would like to make some changes in your piano’s tone to fit your liking, give us a call at 801-701-0113 or visit us at brighamlarsonpianos.com.  Our expert piano technicians can ensure that the voice of your piano’s tone is even from the lowest to the highest notes and can make the adjustments needed so you can enjoy your piano again!  We also offer a variety of new and used pianos to buy or rent! 
#piano #pianorepair

What is piano regulation and how can it help my piano sound great again!

For the serious pianist, the touch of a piano is just as important as the tone of the piano.  When a piano begins to lose it's efficiency and responsiveness in the mechanical action of the piano, it is said to have gone “out of regulation.” This means adjustments that were set at the factory no longer are accurate.   A regulation involves three systems in your piano: the damper, the action, and the trapwork..  A regulation will put the action parts of your piano back in the proper relationship with each other and the rest of the piano so it can operate at its maximum potential again.

Here’s a list of the many moving parts that occasionally need to be regulated.

• Tighten screws (reduce clicking, rattling, or buzzing noises coming from your piano, makes for smoother playing)
• Pedal Adjustment (helps make dampers more effective, makes your piano more responsive to pedal input)
• Aftertouch (nice solid, crisp, responsive feel to the keys, can help with sticking keys)
• Let-off (reduce mushy feel, maximize dynamic expression, eliminates double striking or hammers stifling the sound, most frequent cause of sticking keys)
• Damper Alignment & Lube (stop pesky notes that still ring after you let up on the sustain pedal)
• Key Dip (how far you can push the keys down, helps to smooth repeat playing)
• Key Spacing & Leveling (does your piano need braces? significantly improves appearance, can help with sticking keys)
• Hammer Blow Distance (distance from resting position to the strings, gives you more power)
• Action Height (facilitate smoother, quieter soft pedal operation)
• Key Height (how high the top of the keys are, gives you more power, quicker repeat playing)

(list taken from enjoyyourpiano.com)

So if you are noticing sticky keys on your upright or grand piano, keys that are not level, hammers double bouncing, or an unevenness of touch and tone, call us at 801-701-0113  to schedule a regulation or a piano tuning by one of our expert piano technicians!  You can also visit our website at brighamlarsonpianos.com. We would love to help you get the touch of your piano feeling great again! Or, if you are ready to upgrade or trade in your used piano to a new one, we offer many options.  We are Utah’s exclusive Hailun Piano Dealer!  

#piano #pianorepair

Hammer Head Filing

Hammer Head Filing

How are the hammer heads on your piano looking lately?  The hammer heads on a piano are much like the mallets used to play a xylophone, except that all 88 notes in your piano have a separate "mallet" or hammer.

The hammerheads on a piano receive more punishment than any other part of the piano action. If the hammer heads on your upright or grand piano have deep grooves and cuts from many years of heavy playing they may need filing.   This is one of many repairs we do here at Brigham Larson Pianos!   

So, what happens when your hammer heads are worn? Instead of delivering a clean blow to the strings upon striking, they will wrap around the strings producing a poor tone. It would be like an accomplished violinist trying to play her instrument while wearing a mitten on her left hand.  Shown below to the left is a worn hammer head.  See the deep groves? On the right is a well-functioning hammer head.

Getting your hammer heads filed will result in a much cleaner, crisp tone.  This repair could either be done at your home or our shop here in Pleasant Grove.  It requires moving the action (working part) of your upright or grand piano and gauging how much felt from the hammers would need to be removed. Then the hammers would be re-shaped by sanding them with a strip of sandpaper (as shown in the below picture.) After this, the hardness of the hammers would be adjusted to get the best tone possible.  

If you would like to learn more about hammer head filing, or would like to schedule a piano tuning or repair from one of our expert pianos technicians, please give us a call at 801-701-0113 or visit our website at brighamlarsonpianos.com.  We would love to discuss the best maintenance program for you and your pianos to get it sounding its very best!