You mean, that didn't "Dawn" on you David???

Nope. I was kinda' "In the Dark" ... so-to-speak.

Inside a piano I serviced today there was a sticker with a signature from a fellow called Bill Faber. Apparently he was the cabinet designer and was a member of the Grand Rapids Furniture Designers Association.
I had no idea that Grand Rapids was a furniture design hotspot. Jerry, can you add anything further to that?

Well David, as Motel 6 used to say, "I'll leave the light on for ya until the crack of dawn."

Hi Dan,

Early Grand Rapids earned the nickname "the furniture city," because it was the first center of mass-produced furniture in North America.

http://www.grmuseum.org/exhibits/furniture_city

William Haldane opened a cabinet shop in 1836, 14 years before Grand Rapids incorporated. Other furniture companies followed: Berkey and Gay, Widdicomb, Sligh, Hekman, and Phoenix were among those taking advantage of the Grand River for transportation and power, the area's abundant hardwood supply, and a growing immigrant labor pool. The furniture soon attracted national attention.

In 1876, the Philadelphia Centennial Exposition proved conclusively that a river town in Michigan had indeed earned the title "Furniture City." Presidents Herbert Hoover, Franklin D. Roosevelt, Harry S. Truman, and Dwight D. Eisenhower all worked at Grand Rapids-made desks. Fifteen manufacturers joined forces to build 1,000 Handley Page bombers during World War I. The Japanese Instrument of Surrender was signed on September 2, 1945, at a table made in Grand Rapids. Despite fires, floods, strikes, depressions, and wars, Grand Rapids led the industry until the 1950s and 1960s, when the factories began moving to North Carolina. Today the area, along with nearby Holland and Zeeland, dominates the office furniture industry.

Here are a couple of interesting articles about Grand Rapids. There is a LOT more to our city than meets the eye. We are extremely well diversified.

http://www.midwestguest.com/2012/02/grand-rapids-michigan-the-furniture-city.html

http://grcity.us/design-and-development-...iture-City.aspx

I've been feeling great lately so I'm working harder. Feels nice to be able to work harder again!

It does not rain much in sunny California, but we had a fair amount, by our standards, of liquid sunshine today. I had a show to tune for at one of the great theaters in San Francisco, and while I was tuning, some of that liquid began falling on me. I pointed that out to the stage manager. Upon further inspection, some of it had fallen into the monitor mixing board, causing it to flake out. Fortunately, experience leads to preparation, and there was a hair dryer available. I had a broken string to replace while they dried out the monitor board, which held the doors for a while, delaying an onstage interview with the headliner. But everything went well, and the show came off with no further hitches.

The theater is due for retrofitting beginning next year, so some of the maintenance is probably not up to snuff. My house is the same way, as we work with the architects to get our own retrofit launched.

Sounds like the arts in SF are in a pretty sorry state. You paint a picture of a ramshackle affair with the roof leaking and the piano overdue for restringing in one of its great theatres.

Has the economy hit hard there too?

Well, the theater's piano is overdue for restringing, but we were using an Artist Reserve instrument from Yamaha. As I said, the theater is in a building which is going to be retrofitted for seismic upgrades. It is a very historical theater, of international importance, so the retrofit will undoubtedly be done with much loving care.

Tomorrow may be my last show there, as the group I tune for is putting the finishing touches on their own theater, and I was just informed that they have taken my advice, and will be getting two new concert grands for it. The new theater will take some of the load during the retrofit.

If, as I hope, I can get my retrofit done before the theater's, I may take in their piano and restring it. Their retrofit is slated to take 2 years. I do not have space for it now, but I will after my house is reworked.

I have another show for a different organization Monday, a dance company who has built their own theater and school in recent years. So I would say that the arts are doing reasonably well around here.

BDB,

I didn't realize you were in the northern California area. I graduated from Golden Gate Seminary in Mill Valley back in 1997. Coming from rural southeast Missouri, California was a change for me, but I really enjoyed it. Lived out there for about three years. While in seminary, I worked as the music director over in Concord at Bethel Baptist Church. I still have a lot of dear friends that I have not seen in years. May have to make a trip sometime.

I have fond memories of the Orpheum. Wonderful building. Glad to hear the arts are still thriving in SF. I suppose being surrounded by water has its problems for pianos.

I'm so busy right now that I'm working Saturday's too. I tuned 4 yesterday. Next week I'm tuning no less than 4 a day, 5 and 6 on some days, 6 next week Saturday etc., until December 16th when I"m taking the rest of this month off.

I'm trying to limit myself to only 4 a day but, that sure is hard to do!!! I'm booked solid through January 28th right now and have been. Nice feeling to be so busy!

I also acquired 3 new churches in the past 10 days. They weren't happy with their previous technician and so I got the call.

Interesting links about Grand Rapids, which you have posted Jerry. I had no idea as I am not familiar with that area of the US, thanks for the history lesson.

Very busy here too... working even today... glad to read that you are getting back to a more regular schedule...

Edna Ferber wrote one of her epics about a lumber baron in Michigan, Come And Get It. It is worth a read.

I read a book, I think it's called "Tall Pines".. I think.. All about being a lumberman up around Kalkaska, near Manistee Lake where my cottages are at. The guy that wrote the book is buried up there in Cold Springs Twp. I can't look up the name because the book is setting in one of the cottages but it sure was interesting. He talked about dances, fires, when the lumber started running dry, buying one of the first places around our lake etc.

Spent a week at Deer Camp. One guy killed a 7-pointer by shooting it through the base of the antler. Go figure!

And, now many points does he get for that?

maybe 7?

Officially only 3 or 4, depending on which antler was shot off. Unofficially about 147 "luck" points. About the same for the flying grouse I hit with a .22 the other year.

Today I tuned a cute-as-a-button German Knake mini grand from about 1910. The case is semi-circular in the back. These are pictures of an identical piano.
34 notes in the bass, a total of 66 wound strings.

Oh , I love this! What a great display of engineering and artistic designs. Thanks for the pictures! The field of wound strings covers almost half the plate! How is tenor tone and sustain?

Cute little grand Jurgen. I have never come across one of those.


Tuned an early Nordheimer this morning where middle C was three full tones flat. Not sure how many cents that is but must more than half the tension load over the whole frame.

Dance Along Nutcracker!

Thanks, BDB. That conjured up quite an image in my mind and gave me a good belly laugh.

To be more exact, I did not dance at it, I just tuned a piano for it. I went to a different dinner dance yesterday evening.

Only in Ca. More specifically, SF.

I thInk it's a brIlliant idea. I'll see if I can promote one here for next year.

I was planning to drive in new bridge pins but!

For some reason I have a tenant who thought she could wash a potted plant down the bath tub drain.

And now for some reason the drain is plugged up with dirt and rocks, NOT COOL.

So far three hours of snaking and plunging and no luck.

How could anyone think that's would be a GOOD IDEA?

Tuned a 9' today in the labyrinth of tunnels underneath Waterloo station. They built a boating lake under there just for tonight. Pity they put the piano right next to it.
Many major concert artists are playing there tonite. Some kind of fundraiser.

Spent 17 hours over two days working on a late 1800s 7'5" Steinway C for a Manhattan recording studio. The piano was completely rebuilt 20-30 years ago and new hammers, shanks, and flanges installed probably 5 years ago. (Steinway hammers with gobs of lacquer applied.) Hammers were flattened out with deep string cuts, open strings everywhere and it lacked power and focus. Before I did the work it was not an easy instrument to tune.

I repinned all 88 (very loose) hammer flanges, traveled about 25 shanks, reglued 10 loose hammer heads, reshaped and aligned the hammers, seated bridge pins, leveled strings, adjusted jack position which was curiously all over the place, rep lever height, letoff and drop. I tuned it, and did hours of string/hammer mating and voicing. Bedding, key leveling, dip, and even hammer blow were already good and very consistent which saved lots of time. Still need to go back for some finishing touches on rep springs and dampers. Amazing how much easier and faster it is to tune now...

I've only tuned a few model C instruments before, and had never worked on one as extensively as this. It might even be my favorite Steinway as it seems to combine the best aspects of the B and D into a well balanced piano - wonder why NY stopped making it.

I always thought the C model was made in Hamburg only.

They stopped making Steinway Cs in New York a long time ago, although there may have been some made up until the beginning of WWII.

Good to know, thanks for the heads up BDB.