November meet

November 8 ^th2004 At 8 PM. Oberlin Conservatory
77 W. College St. Oberlin, OH

Pre-Meeting Eat and Greet 6:45 at
Lorenzo Pizzeria Restaurant 52 1/2 South Main (St. Rt. 58)
The drive is on the west side, next to the Oberlin News Tribune. Straight across the street from the AAA
You can not see the restaurant very well from Main St. This is also the parking lot for the Conservatory

The technical is related to Ken Sloane's technical that he presented in September. Though both Ken and I do a lot of Steinway action restoration and voicing, we have some similar and some different techniques that we utilize to get the results we want. I often "pre-juice" the hammers using different proportions of hardener and thinner with a syringe. I also use a low-humidity box with a controlled humidity environment to bring action parts and hammer felt to a consistent humidity level before easing centers and juicing hammers during the summer months, when it is too humid to think about rebuilding actions.

I also have a hammer filing technique I use before I hang hammers, which provides a nice, symmetrical shape to the hammers, and which means that the hammers are about ready to be voiced as soon as they're hung.

John Cavanaugh, RPT
Director of Piano Technology
Oberlin Conservatory

Directions- From the East or West you can take Route 2, to St. Rt. 58 (In Amherst). then south to Oberlin. Or if you prefer, take St. Rt. 20 to St. Rt. 58, then head North. The college is one block west of St Rt. 58 (Main St.) on "W. College St." This is a Large, 3 story, white building on the southeast corner of W. College and Professor. Enter the front doors and turn left. The stairs or elevator down will get you to the shop which is in the basement, turn right. The driveway between the book store and the Conservatory is to a parking lot and the Lorenzo Restaurant.

What a great year we are having so far! The technicals have been outstanding, the attendance has been better than ever, and the camaraderie fantastic. If you haven't been to a meeting for a while, you might want to see what the buzz is about. At the October meeting we opened up nominations for our National Awards. We submit these for consideration to the National Awards Committee, who then select the worthy persons each year. We already selected our nomination for the PTG Hall of Fame award. We still need nominations for the Golden Hammer and Member of Note awards. We will finalize our nominations at the November meeting.

It has been awhile since I've attended a seminar, regional or national. The usual reasons centering around money and time and the lack there of; but, regardless, I make the commitment to attend the East Central Regional seminar.

If the national is like attending a major university; the regional is like going to a private college. Small classes, lots of discussion, access to instructors and parts and tool suppliers. Want a private tutorial on cybertuner, tunelab, or verituner? Just go to their booth when they are slow and you'll get undivided attention. Wally Brooks and Bob Marinelli are more than generous with information about parts, tools and processes, as are the Webbs. And then there are the classes...

The PTG is extremely fortunate to have a core of instructors from which to draw. Beginning repairs, advanced concepts of piano building, tuning theory and practice classes were all there in a nice balance satisfying all levels of craft. Of particular note is the attention paid to associates. A full day of hands on work stations was worth the price of admission and was offered at no extra fee, as at the national. Practically one on one instruction on the basics offered by seasoned professionals. This was just plain good stuff. And I'd have to include the camaraderie with other attendees outside of classes as part of the included benefits.

I came back with enough new information and tips to make the hustle to catch up worth while. This was also one of the least expensive seminars I've attended. Thanks and congratulations for a job well done to Brian Evers, seminar director, and everyone else who made this a worthwhile weekend.

October Meeting
With another large turnout and members seldom seen, Don Dusenbury hosted our October meeting. The pre-meeting shop tour and butts & flanges discussion were an educational bonus and worth the trip. It is amazing what a treasure of knowledge is available to our members and all you have to do is SHOW UP. So maybe the topic kept you away, what you missed was a look forward and back in the world of pianos, a glimpse into piano companies, an understanding on how things work, the good, the bad, and who did it. (Not sure I captured it all).
Well I guess if you missed it, IT REALLY WAS YOUR LOSS

A Big Thank you to Don Dusenbury for the Hospitality and Education.

D Bratton Editor Cleveland Chapter Newsletter mailto:[email protected]

"All expressions of opinion and all statements of supposed fact are published on the authority of the author as
listed, and are not to be regarded as expressing the view of this chapter or the Piano Technicians Guild Inc.
unless such statements or opinions have been adopted by the chapter or the Piano Technicians Guild Inc."