putting in a new soundboard

I enjoy listening to this task. It requires two people working together coordinating movements. There is wet glue drying and a critical need for precise placement. Rhys and Thomas seemed to worked smoothly and the results are being clamped in for the glue to set up completely. Another piano is on it's way to a renewed life.

done

I stood at my bench for 6 and half hours long hours today mixing small batches of wood epoxy and filling holes. I've decided the reason we all get along with each other in the shop is that we all possess the quirky character trait that tolerates endless tedious tasks. Since endless tedious tasks are the nature of piano work the gods have joined us together for the purpose of piano restoration. We had ice cream after lunch from Yumy Gort that we took to Crab Cove and sat and watched the coots bob in the water while we licked. And we watched two Molly the Moo-Cow cartoons that were great. I ended my day polishing  88 wippen screws on the wire wheel. Really a pretty good day.

to chisel or not to chisel

Rhys laughs at me when I say my favorite job is chiseling. He thinks it's a sign I was meant for a life in the trades. Smoothing out the wood plugs that fill the lead holes is sensory satisfying. But I am back at work on my Mason-Hamlin after a week away, and it just wasn't the best candidate for plug filling. First of all, it has 6 or 7 holes in most of the keys, and they are placed close together. Second, the holes are pretty uniform, the lead was smaller and applied in such a manner that it all came out leaving the holes smooth. Drilling out the holes so they will fit the plugs we buy just seemed like taking away too much of the key when it didn't need to be removed. There are no smaller plugs commercially available and past attempts at making plugs were not successful. So I am left with the wood epoxy solution for filling. My technique is improving with practice, but using the epoxy adds angst to the process. The epoxy is two parts mixed together with a 15 minute window to use. And you must wear gloves which end up getting covered with crumbly bits which seem to be attracted to the ivory and ebony of the keys. The trick is to figure out how much to mix up for that 15 minutes window and to keep rags around to attempt to keep your fingers crumb free. I use razor blades like a putty knife to smooth the epoxy in the holes and if you are clever you can get everything smooth enough to avoid having to sand later. The whole process is just not as relaxing as the chisel slipping through the wood plugs. But since it's for my Mason-Hamlin I just have to let go of my desire to chisel.

october, tom's place and surrounds

We were not only blessed with good weather, but an amazing lack of crowds driving through Yosemite. Olmstead Point was even uncrowded and taking our sandwiches up the rocks we could get as high as the top of Half Dome, with an easy 15 minute climb. Over the years I've found I've wanted to escape rather than enjoy the park, but this trip was different. RV's were minimal, and the drive was pleasant and relaxed. Coming back home we even spotted rising fish in Tenaya Lake.

I got my aspen fix, both  the color and the quake. The patterns on the ground were as interesting as in the trees.

Hiking to Rainbow Falls on the San Joaquin we ran into the brand Z tree.

shadow duck

The evening light produces ephemeral shadows in our upstairs bedroom. I seem to be drawn to things ephemeral. We are leaving tomorrow for the eastside of the Sierra, hopefully, to catch the aspens turning gold. And to get one more fix of high desert air before the snows make getting over there more difficult. Fishing gear, cameras, knitting, books, and food are being sorted and loaded into the trusty Subaru. But let's hope the weather gods are kind and all wheel drive is not necessary.

It was a busy week at the shop, another piano is on it's way to Hawaii.

Not much clearance on this. And below is all that remained of the piano in the shop.

no extra screws!

And I received complements from my co-workers, that it looked good. "Real pretty", to quote Thomas. More parts will be added later, but the frame is one piece again.

my first mason hamlin

With great enthusiasm I have completely disassembled the stack of a 1928 Mason Hamlin AA.

The real test is going to be the re-assemble. The piles of whippens and hammers will be replaced with new parts, but the metal pieces will be bead blasted, polished with steel wool, or wire brushed. New sandpaper will be place under the hammers, new let-off buttons will be added, and hopefully it will all look something like this:

For the record this photo is a Steinway stack, on a full action. Quite a week for me, I learned how the sostenuto attaches with the monkey. Which is shown in the above. This sort of knowledge and no one will want to sit next to you at a dinner party. Unless of course it is a group of piano technicians.

the feast of saint francis

Things were back under control in this shot. Father Dana had to call in St. Francis himself to help him when things were getting a little unruly. The dog below had to be separated when some one tried to get in line behind him, husky in tow.

The guinea pig stayed in it's cage and caused no trouble. The stuffed animals seemed to get along with everyone, well mannered as you would expect.

Gris-gris slept soundly in the basement through the whole event. Like us, he chooses to get all of his blessings through osmosis.