PIANO TUNING NEWS, INFORMATION & OTHER STUFF!

This is a page where I will be posting stuff about recent events, extra information on piano care, and the odd opinion or maybe even a cartoon or two!

My first posting will be about the PIANO TUNERS' CONVENTION held recently in Glenelg, Adelaide.

HAPPY READING!





Piano Tuners’ Convention – Adelaide, 17-19 Oct 2017

                Have just returned from the convention in Adelaide, held at the

Stamford Hotel in Glenelg (See picture on right!)The seminars were

extremely good, and there was a great deal of useful and worthwhile

knowledge shared. It was also good to catch up with old friends from

previous Conventions, and make

some new contacts.












The sessions I attended were:


Polyester Repairs & Polishing: Greg Webster.   This was a basic introduction to art of repairing scratches and dents which often happen to the polyester finishes of modern pianos. The kit which accompanies such work is a small and very high-tech piece of equipment.





Abel Hammers (2 sessions) Led by Norbert Abel & his daughter Jennifer of the

Abel Piano Hammer Company in Germany. These sessions covered the manufacture

of piano hammers. Piano hammers are made of felt of course, and the story covered the

process of felt manufacture, beginning with the shearing of sheep in Australia! A number

of short videos also showed the process of hammer manufacture - an extremely refined

and exacting procedure.







                                                                                             Left: the Abel Piano Hammer Factory in Germany.

                                                                                             Note the solar panels on the roof!






Grand Piano Regulation (2 sessions) – David Jenkins (New Zealand)


David’s sessions are always worthwhile, and delegates picked up a heap of

good tips for improving the quality, speed and exactness of

grand piano regulation.

Upright Damper Replacement & Regulation – Kerry Cooper (QLD).
A lot of very useful information on making, cutting and replacing dampers. Kerry
began by saying that he had been in the piano tuning game for forty years, yet still
expects to learn something new every day! A good attitude for life in general, I think!


Repairs and Regulation of Older Uprights (3 sessions) – Wim Blees (USA, Hawaii).

Three very good sessions. For many of us, this was the real coalface of our work, as it dealt

with pianos we are most likely to meet in our everyday work


The convention event ended with a formal dinner - a great event where everyone 'let their hair down'!


FINAL COMMENT: - A most worthwhile event!
We are all looking forward to the next one in 2019, in Melbourne!