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Observed a master tuning at the PTG convention, and am glad I did so!

June 21. Sent my son off to tune a piano in a church. I went to tune an Everett console in a home while he did that. Next, I tuned a Yamaha C-3 in a home. Then, I removed an action and worked on it the rest of the day.

June 22: Removed another action in the morning, returned the action I removed and worked on the day prior, went to my shop and worked on this next action for the rest of the day. Had to repin many hammer flanges, filed hammers etc.

June 23: More homes. Tuned a Baldwin M. Tuned a Hardman & Peck console. I don't like the piano but, I've been tuning it like clockwork for 25 years so, I keep doing it. Then tuned a Cable Nelson console. Then got a massage.

June 24: Tuned a Steinway D in a home. Returned another action, regulated it, leveled keys, mated hammers etc.

June 25: Tuned 4 homes. Tuned an Everett console. Tuned a Kawai CX-5H. Tuned a Yamaha C-5. Tuned a Baldwin Acrosonic.

That was my week! Loving it!

Tuned 6 pianos on my Thursday...Friday shop work all day.

Also, stayed up in the yard until 3am last night, setting up my wife Jane's new 6 foot tall Dobsonian 14 inch lense telescope.

With this tool, I can now see Dan Silverwood, and also easily audit the classes at the PTG convention ;-)

RPD

You're not spying on the neighbors now too are you RPD????

Dan, now Rick can really see if we're actually working or NOT! OH NOOO!

Jerry, with that scope, neighbors are waaaaay to close. More like your neighborhood!

Actually, it's a nice scope for stargazing constellations. So Rick, which one is it? I enjoy stargazing too, just can never stay up that late...way past the streetlights along with to much light pollution here in the city, now up north is a different ballpark.

What!?......Geez, honey pass me some clothes will ya....quick,.... those voyeurs in MI are at it again.


Well Jerry, Rick will catch me doing a whole lot of nothing..... I haven’t picked up a tool since June 6th...

You know I like stargazing too Les,....Catherine Deneuve , Juliet Binoche, Eva Green, Sophie Marceaux.....oh, I see..... not those kind of stars.......

I repaired a broken key on a Korg Electronic piano amongst other things. The owner was a guy who was so stupid drunk I was afraid he would pass out before I finished, and I was pretty sure his check would bounce. He kept offering me a beer (I don't drink the stuff), and kept thanking him, saying this was "the nicest gift you could give me!"

In the end though, he paid in greenback cash and the job went well and turned out well, so I guess I shouldn't complain. . .

Saw a special with Raquel Welch last week, she still looks good -with some well placed $$ in key spots

I was happy for two reasons. The first, an old upright that I was waiting for to start restoration came from Vienna in the morning, and second, my Andree O. book about voicing also came today, so I can enjoy reading it, slooowly.

Andre's book is a pretty easy read, with excellent pics and a DVD to go with it.

Yesterday, I tuned a Kawai RX 7 that I service every 3-4 months. It's great working on good pianos often so that they can be improved on with each visit.

Then it was off to an airport hotel for a Schafer SS 51 that is purty near beat to death: floppy pedals, broken string, squeaks, creaks, regulation poor, hammers worn. This was my first time at this one, so I did what I could in the limited time I had.

Then a Kawai k-3 upright. They sure are easy to tune!

Today, hangin' with wife and sun on a rather toasty 95 degree day. I might have to bag the bike ride and drink beer instead...

So has everyone been on a hiatus? I doubt it.

Tuned a '51 Grinnell Bros spinet. Was in good shape overall, pins felt nice. It does need some general maintenance which I pointed out, hopefully the school will put it/me in the budget

I had 5 tunings scheduled on Thursday and during tuning # 4, a local concert artist called with an emergency tuning on his Hamburg D for Friday auditions. By the time I arrived home at about 10:30 pm, I had dispatched 170 miles, 6 tunings, and 15 hours on the road. Love it!

3 tunings today out of 4 scheduled....the fourth called early AM to reschedule (which was okay with me).

Noteworthy pianos, all: A Shigeru Kawai SK-7, A 7' 9" Petrof, and a 5' 6" Petrof. A grand day! All pianos were at pitch, the small Petrof needed a little voicing.

New car report: I drove 100 miles today and used less than 2 gallons of gas. The Prius is an amazing vehicle that I'd recommend to any tech.

It's good to get home before the wife, so I can play my own piano for a while!

Tuned, voiced, then fine tuned again a heavily played Young-Chang upright, tuned and cleaned a messy 1950s Wm Knabe grand, also did a pitch raise and tuned a Pramberger JP-280. Even though the tuning pins were pretty tight, the pinblock on the Pramberger felt somewhat spongy, if that's the right term for it.

Glen

Well, last week nothing! Vacation time! This week, yesterday, I tuned 4.

1. Kawai GM 10. Tuned in 2008 by me. Was 437. Raised to 440, took my time, done in 50 minutes. Came out nice.

2. Kawai RX-6. Last tuned in April. WAY sharp. Lowered about 1/4 tone to pitch, again done in 50 minutes.

3. Tuned a Wurlitzer spinet. Raised 1/4-440. Yapped with the customer, played with the dog. Played with the dog some more, fun little critter. The rooms were circular. He'd tear around the corner, go through the house, come around the other corner and race past me before I could touch him skidding all the way. Sometimes, he'd stop shy of the corner, peek his head around it, turn around and tear the other direction again. Maybe trying to reverse his dizziness from going in circles for so long. Talked with the kids. An hour and a 1/2 later, I was finally done!

4. Tuned a Yamaha console. Last tuned 2007, me. Was almost right on pitch. Spent 50 minutes fooling around with fine tuning it. I like those kind.

5. Came home, finished playing catch up on the phone calls that came in from last week, emails and all that fun stuff that nobody does for you while you're gone.

Today, I pick up another action, take it to my shop, work on it, file hammers etc...

I'm officially a PTG Associate Member as of today

Congratulations Les!

Les, congrats on the PTG membership! And, its a new design Orion 14 inch truss tube Dobsonian telescope, around 3K with lenses...thing stands 6 feet tall!...Jane got to spend the day 5 years ago or so, with a very elderly but energetic John Dobson (world known inventer of the Dobsonian and also Sidewalk Astronomers), so that's the one we wanted!

Jerry, yes, I can see you in Grand Rapids now. But, darn thing is that you're never there anymore with this summer every-other-week on vacation thing. Later, I'll figure a way to get even with you for all that down time. Somehow....

Dan, yes, you MUST find a way to keep your clothes on out there...now that we are "all seeing" around here. Hey, what are you doing with that Chicken suit anyway?!!

OK, now for me: Today had six appts, 5 tunings (where I continued to explore EVBTiii) and one pick up of an old action with ivories yellowed with smoke and age...venerable old Bush and Gertz grand...nice piano...they're committing to a couple K in work with moisture control and full regulation and minor repair...Jane booked Kevin Murphy (wood worker extrordinaire!) to come to our shop to polish out a piano that we didn't rebuild...Tomorrow we move a piano in the morning, and shop work on an old pump organ we're delivering this month.

Tonight, quiet time with my guitar...songwriting for a new CD project for which studio time is around the corner, shows starting Spring 2010. Photos in a couple months...I had to give up eating after purchasing a digital scale (Jane says fat OR bald)

Tomorrow night, more stars if its not raining. Who needs sleep. There's a whole UNIVERSE out there!!!!

RPD

You got me cracking up, pardon the pun, over here Rick!

Isn't Kevin Murphy AWESOME?! He talks your fool head off but, he sure does excellent work!!! I sent him in not to long ago to repair the side, bottom board and toe, I guess you call it, on a Yamaha studio after someone pushed the casters over the lip of something without taking off the weight. They pulled the whole toe block out of the corner of the piano along with the side of the case. Busted it up pretty good but, Kevin did his magic on it.

I tuned a Cable Nelson spinet this morning then tuned a concert Schimmel. Was going golfing this afternoon but, it was so blooming hot, my son decided he didn't want to go after all and I didn't want to go alone so, I stayed inside with my A/C on and did nothing.

Tomorrow, I return an action in the morning and then, hehe he he heheeee, I go bye bye again for a week. Well? I have to hide from Rick somehow now that he can see my every move with his new toy!

Way to go, Les! It's a big step forward in many ways.

Today I did 5: A Schafer upright with 30 cent pitch raise; two Kawai uprights each untuned for two years, one needed a pitch raise; a 20 cent pitch raise on a Steinway B from the 70s with teflon wippens (but not hammers) that had been bought from a recording studio; pitch raised and tuned the oldest Yamaha P-2 I've ever seen, serial number in the 700,000 range. What a beater! But it sounded surprisingly good, except when the ceiling fan was on....