SERVICES, TUNING COSTS, LABOR.

USED PIANOS FOR SALE.

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A message for you; Tuning your piano.

Email; hcward8@aol.com/

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WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT YOUR PIANO.
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Call Ward Piano Tuning for tuning appointents and save
30% to 50% on tunings and repairs.

(1) TUNING YOUR PIANO.
Has that piano been sitting for years?
If you love your piano have it tuned at least once a year, or it
will fall into a state of neglect, it may take several tuning to
bring it back to the original sound.  It does not matter whether
you play it or not it will still go out of tune.

As a wise man said we need three things to survive, food, clothing
and shelter, anything more is a luxury.  A piano is a  luxury item
and like your automobile, it needs to be maintained and serviced,
if you love your piano, set aside enough money in your budget to
maintain it. The average tuning cost is 85 to 120 dollars(local
tuning), anything else is extra.
Ward Piano Tuning prices are much less.  Most all minor repair parts
are carried on the service truck,   on the same day of the tuning, at low
prices.

In order to keep the strings and working parts in top shape, the
piano needs to be checked and tuned every 6 months or at least once
a year.
A neglected piano that has not been tuned for many years, may not
hold tuning, the strings have dropped way below A440, it may need
to be tuned at least twice, then minimum once a year or it will fall
back into a neglected stage.
A piano that has been sitting for years will need to be tuned, Then
wait about a week, for the strings to settle then fine tune it.

If your piano has been sitting for many years and the tuner just
tuned it,  it may sound O.K. for the first few hours, then it may start
twanging, depending on how much stretch is left in the strings,
or how low it is.  It will probably require another tuning  after
the strings settle.
To sum it up a neglected piano may have to be tuned about two times
to get that quality sound you want. So have it tuned every 6 or 12
months.

What makes a piano go out of tune? The strings are stretching fast
or slow, depending on how much stretch is in them.  The weather or
air drafts will changes it.  The holes in the wooden tuning pin
block swell and shrink many times during weather changes.
Friction changes it. We play on it. When the tuning pins are moved
over and over through the years it allows the pins to loosen and
slip, especially in very dry weather. A piano tuned(A440) has a lot
of tension on it, if the tuning pins are loose, A bump may knock it
out of tune.

Most spinets and consoles go out of tune quicker than uprights and
grands.  Short strings and light frame of the spinet will not hold
the tension  nearly as well. Some spinets need to be tuned several
times a year.
A piano needs adjustments on the moving parts often,   most can be
done during the tuning.  A spinet takes more time to adjust because
the action is down in a hole.
The grand piano is an expensive piano and may cost more to maintain,
it also takes up a lot more floor space, and is much harder to move
around, if its moved very far it may require a professional mover,
it requires special moving equipment, the legs need to be removed,
and it needs to be wrapped.
Mice and moths will get into the piano and eat felts, mice will ruin
a piano. 

If you have a used piano in bad shape, consider restoring it before
you buy a new one.  New pianos often have problems, that take years
to iron out,   and need several tunings in the first three years to
get the stretch out of the strings; Also expensive.
Some of the older pianos are a higher quality than the new ones.

Water and a piano don't mix, keep drinks and plants off the top of
it. Water content in the air inside your piano  can cause parts to
stick. It is best to keep the room at an even temperture,   but in
churches or similar places,       the piano may need a heater that
installs inside the frame, and also a blanket cover.
Unheated rooms, damp rooms, open air spaces, are hard on the
tuning, wood frame,and pin block, and will cause the piano to go
out of tune quicker.
Leave about 4" of air space between the wall and piano during the
winter.
Do not place a piano in the direct blast of a warm air, or cold air
vent.
Keep it away from an outside door, and not near a  steam radiator.
When a piano is moved, its a good idea to tune it, after its moved
to the new location. Any banging, bumping, shaking in  transit will
have an affect on the tuning.

Electronic pianos also give problems and don't sound as good as wood
pianos, if you have a problem with them they are worthless, unless
you send them back to the factory for repair.

(2) LOOKING FOR, OR BUYING A PIANO.
There are four kinds of pianos; The spinet, console, studio,  and
grand.
There are two basic styles of pianos,         grands and uprights. 
Grands are horizontal, the strings are laid out flat to the ground.
The upright or verticals piano strings are stretched up and down,
at an angle.

What are the different piano sizes? You may want to measure it
before you buy it.
Grand pianos range in size from 5' to 10' 1" in length. smaller
sizes is called  a baby grand, the largest size  is called a
concert grand.
You need a lot more floor space for a grand piano than an upright.
   
Upright pianos are categorized by height. All uprights take up about
the same floor space.      All uprights are approximately 56" X 24"
The smallest upright piano is a spinet, which is 36-39" high. 
Console upright pianos are 39-42" Studio uprights are 42" or higher.

What is the difference in sound between a small piano and a large
one?
The Spinet piano has short strings, as compared to a larger upright;
The shorter strings and smaller body don't sound as good as the
larger piano which has longer strings and a larger body;  Also the
spinet action sits down in a hole, which makes it much harder to
work on, it may cost more for repair labor.

What are the pros and cons of an electronic keyboard?
Pro; It don't need tunings; Its light weight and easy to move
around.
Cons; You need electric power to operate it; for repairs you have
two choices, 1 throw it away, 2 send it back to the factory for
repair. Electric pianos don't sound as good as wood pianos.

If you buy a new piano, Ask the seller about: The warranty, it
should be for about 5 years.
Usually the warranty covers 1 tuning when delivered.
Pianos need to be tuned every 6 or 12 months, if not, the piano
will go into a state of neglect, it will have to be tuned several
times to get it back to a quality sound.
A common warranty does not cover tuning. It may not cover the finish.
Is the delivery covered in the price? Does the bench goes with the
piano?
Does the seller have repair and maintenance technicians on hand?
Tell the dealer you want it cleaned before it's delivered, and
tuned afterwards (moving may make the piano go out of tune).

Before you buy a used piano:
Take someone with you who knows pianos, and how to spot one that
needs a lot of repairs. Its better to pay a piano tuner a small fee
to check it for you, than it is to get stuck with a lemon. Its hard
to find most problems, even for an experienced person.

Test the keys and pedals, make sure the keys, pedals and hammers
don't stick or squeak.
Press down on the sustain pedal and release it on all the keys,
make sure it kills the sound when its released, the dampers felts
may be leaking.
Sometimes a key may be broken, it can be repaired, but in most all
cases not replaced.

Look for broken or missing strings and hammers, make sure they are
in place and in working order.
As in the images, Its easy to spot a missing string if you know
what to look for.  In the one string notes, there should be one
string, in the two string notes, there should be two strings, in
the three string notes, there should be three strings.

The hammers should hit the strings dead on center, not sideways.
The hammer tips should be smooth and not have deep worn grooves in
them.    When the hammers hit the strings they should bounce back,
away from them.
If something is broke or missing it can be repaired, look in the
bottom of the piano for the missing part, leave all broken strings
or parts in the bottom of the piano for the repair man, the old
string is used to measure and make another. Sticky keys or hammers
in most cases can be  easily fixed.
Look at the front of the hammers, are they badly worn? they can be
fixed.
With the brand name and serial number of a piano you can find its
age.
If you think you may want to purchase a particular piano, hire a
piano tuner to inspect it for you, its better to pay a little than
get stuck with a bad piano.
For to inspect the upright piano, just raise the front lid, or
remove the front desk; You may think the grand piano different,
 and hard to tell  just by looking;     However, play it and you
should hear and feel its faults, if any.  Look down in the hole on
top, at the heads of the hammers, you may have to remove the music
desk, it just slides out on most;      The hammers should hit dead
center, not sideways. Check the hammer tips for deep grooves, look
at the strings, are any missing or rusty?   The dampers are on top
of the strings, easy to see and inspect. It is normal for the last
few dampers to be missing on the right side.    When the foot pedal
is released, the damper should stop the string from ringing.
The piano wood cabinet is covered with veneer and sometimes peels
or has scratches in it. Some pieces may be missing and need to be
replaced. The coating on the veneer may be old and cracked.
If the veneer is peeling off, its a sure  sign that the piano has
been exposed to water, perhaps even sitting outside.     Sitting a
piano on the porch is a bad idea,     the veneer will peel and the
metal parts will rust.
Even if you cover it up its still a bad idea,  the piano will suck
moisture under the covering. The piano needs a dry closed building
for storage.

(3) PIANO BENCHES.
Battered and beat up benches can be repaired, new benches can be
bought that match in color.

(4) KEYTOPS.
On some pianos the keytops may be missing or loose.
Or they may be chipped or discolored. New keytops can
be ordered and installed. The keys are not interchangable, from
one piano to another, also the keys cannot be swapped around
on the keyboard, so do not remove the keys unless you number them
first.  If a key is broken on an older piano, it must be repaired.
Ward piano tuning, can repair old keys and install new keytops for
your piano.

(5) OPEN IT, LOOK BEFORE YOU BUY IT.
Most piano's have a hinged top lid, Raise the lid, look inside. 
TOP LID. 
Opening an Upright, Console or Spinet.
Most piano's have a hinged top which can be just lifted up, with
no screws. Some are held by a snap, if so you need to pull hard.
Some piano lids  have screws or allen wrench bolts holding the
top on, located on the back,  just below the top.
Some lift up from the end side and have pins in the hinges, its
best to pull the hinge pins and set the top off on this type
piano.

FRONT PANEL OR MUSIC DESK.
On some The front panel or music desk is held by clips or screws
on each end, inside the top, the bottom edge may be held in
place by a peg,  just unfasten the clips or remove the screws
and lift it out.
On some uprights the front panel may swing out slightly, to a
reading position when the key cover is lifted up; The front
panel has a clip on each end, that sits on a peg in each end.
Lift the top lid and look down in there behind the panel, if so
just lift the panel out and off.
Some pianos especially uprights, have a lock bolt pin that you
pull out on each end.
The kickboard (panel above the pedals, and below the keyboard) can
be removed by compressing the clip(s) at the top, the bottom edges
will be in peg holes or a groove. 

(6) TUNING PINS.
The tuning pins are located at the inside rear top of the piano, and
the strings are wound around them. The tuning pins  are screwed into
a hard maple wood pinblock,  with age this wood becomes worn and the
pins may slip in the wood causing the strings to drop. The only way
to tell if the tuning pins are loose is to turn them with a tuning
hammer.

Piano's with loose pins will not hold a tuning very long,  if at all,
depending on how loose they are.
 
Tuning pin repairs can make the tunings last much longer and save a
lot of money in tuning cost. Major repair involves;
(1) Removing and replacing the maple pinblock.
(2) Install new pins, about two sizes larger.
(3) Repairing the loose pins with epoxy(last hope for a cracked
pinblock).
(4) Simple repairs are to lay the piano on its back and dope the pins
with a glue liquid, called pin dope. This will not work on a cracked
pinblock.
Ward piano tuning can make tuning pin repairs for you.

(7) STRINGS.
It is not a good idea to play piano with a missing string, it will damage
the action.
The sound of piano strings over the years changes, they get rusted up
and dirty;  They can be cleaned but they will  never sound like new
strings.
Some piano's are still playing with strings at least a hundred years
old.
Very seldom do they break, but when they do its very hard on the
nerves.
When a string breaks on your piano, roll it up and leave it in the
bottom of the piano, the tuner will need to use it as a guide for
the replacement string. Replace a broken string as soon as possible,
it will damage the hammer mechanism by playing it with a broken
string.
The piano has approximately 241 strings, about 10 notes (heavy bass
strings), 1 string per note, and has about 16 notes with 2 strings
per note,   the rest are 3 strings per note. If a string breaks in
the one string per note section, the hammer then will travel too
deep, or far, causing strain on  the hammer and its moving parts.
If a string breaks in the two string section, it will cause the
hammer to twist sideways, resulting in a broken hammer shaft, damage
to the wrist pin, or busted wood around the pin, also The face of
the hammer will wear off sideways.
Ward piano tuning can make strings repairs for your piano.

(8) HAMMERS.
Hammers heads are covered with hard felt, after years of use, the
strings will wear deep grooves in the felt, which feel like they are
grabbing the strings instead of the strings bouncing off the hammers.
The older hammer surfaces will become more flat, instead of slightly
rounded; Which results in a poor tone quality.
Look at the hammer rail, all the hammers should be resting on it.
Check the striking distance, strike a key and hold it down, the
hammers should bounce back and stop about 7/8 inch from strings.
check the letoff or escapement, press the key slow, all the way down,
and hold it down, when the hammer trips back,  it should be about 1/8
inch from the string. If not, then it may need adjusting, Its a little
hard to estimate the distance if the hammers are badly wore.

Grand hammers.
Look down in the hole on top, strike the keys one at a time, the
hammers should bounce back from the string, about 3/4", press it
slow, let the hammer touch the string, the hammer should be right
in the center, with the same margin on each side, sometimes the
hammers will hit on the side, even missing some of the strings, and
will need alignment.
Ward piano tuning can adjust, repair or reshape the hammers for your
piano. Some repairs are free with a tuning.

(9) DAMPERS.
The dampers stop the strings from ringing. The felt must be soft to
settle on the string or strings to stop all the ringing. As dampers
age, the felts become hard and will not dampen correctly.
The dampers are designed to make the strings stop ringing, so it will
not clash with another string that is ringing. The dampers may need
adjusting,  or they may need replaced. The dampers may be too loose,
or too tight.  Also the damper spring may be broke or missing.
Ward piano tuning can repair or replace the dampers for your piano.

(10 SOUNDBOARD.
The soundboard is the amplifier for the piano. located in the back
behind the harp. It is a dome shaped piece of wood with wooden ribs
on its back.  older soundboards the ribs may begin to come off the
board itself, and cracks will appear in it. It can be repaired, if
the soundboard has lost its dome shape, It will affect the tone and
sound.  Ward piano tuning at this time can make minor repairs on
the soundboard.

(11) PIANO ACTION.
The action is the moving parts between the key and the hammer. There
are over 50 parts involved in the playing of one  note. There may be
repair or adjustment required for some of these parts depending on the
condition of the piano. An action on an old piano that has been
adjusted  correctly feels and plays smoother.    

Regulation adjustment or action adjustment is the same thing. 
Most parts inside the piano are cushioned with felts, over the years
the felts change size and shape, when that happens, the parts
movement is affected and the key does not work as easily, if at all.
Clicking noises in the action is a sign of missing felts, bouncing
hammers is a sign of bad buckskins, worn hammers with deep grooves
in them need reshaping.
Ward piano tuning can make adjustments on your piano action and keys
during a normal tuning in most cases.  Ward piano tuning and repair
can repair or overhaul the piano action for you. 

(12) BRIDLE STRAPS.
Bridle straps are short ribbons of cloth that jerk the hammer back,
and will keep the key assembly from hanging down when the action is
removed.
Old bridlestraps become brittle and will break easily. If some are
bad and broke, then they all are bad, and will soon break. Missing
bridle straps need to be replaced.  Ward piano tuning can install
new bridle straps on your piano at a low price.

(13 KEYBOARD.
The piano keyboard has 88 keys and 88 notes. The keyboard has strips
of felt, felt washers, paper washers and pins to make it work. The
middle of the key rocks on a pin and felt washers, the front of the
key rocks on a pin and felt washers. The keys and action parts have
adjustment screws to adjust the loose motion out of the keys and
hammers.
Mice and moths can eat the felts and washers out from under the keys,
and hammers, just one thin missing paper or felt washer will make a
difference in the look and feel of the keytops, also causing unseen
strain or damage to the action mechanism.
Clicking noises in the action are caused by missing felts, a sign of
mice damage.  Older piano's are famous for mice and moth damage.  If
the keys are not level, or if the keys wobble sideways,   its a sure
sign of bad felts(mice and moth damage).
Mice love a piano, they build nests under the keys,  locking up the
keyboard.
Mice and moth damage will throw the keys and action   completely out
of whack.
If using rat poison, do not place it on top of the keys,  or in the
piano.  Rat poison will fall in between the keys locking the keys up,
mice eat the poison amd die, usually under the keys, locking up the
keyboard, and stinking up the house.

The keys rock on center pins in the keybed,   sometimes they fit too
tight or too loose causing poor operation of a key.
Worn key pin felts(bushings) in the key pin holes will let keys
wobble as they are used, causing excessive wear on the parts. They
can be repaired.
Replacing the felts and key pin bushings, or reshaping the hammers
will throw the action out of whack, and it must be adjusted after
wards.
You can hear and feel the difference in a piano that has new felts
and bushings, installed.
You can feel and hear the difference in a piano that has the hammers
reshaped, or new hammers installed.
Ward piano tuning can replace the felts, reshape the hammers, do the
adjusting, with a same day tuning in most cases.
Ward piano tuning can install new action parts for your piano.

(14) FOOT PEDALS.
Pianos have 2 or three pedals. The right pedal lowers and raises
the dampers onto the strings.  The left pedal moves the hammers
closer to the strings in an upright, creating a softer tone.
The left pedal in a grand moves the hammers sideways thereby missing
one of three strings,  creating a softer tone.
The middle pedal on an upright piano may be used to lower a mute
cloth between the strings and the hammers, or used to lift only the
bass dampers.
In some pianos it may not be hooked up. Ward piano tuning can adjust
the foot pedals.

Missing or broken foot pedals, is common on some pianos, when moving
a piano the pedal will hang on the threshhold, step, or other,
instead of lifting the piano over the obstruction, its shoved
forward and broken. The foot pedals are easily broken.
Use a 2 wheel hand truck to lift the end of a piano over thresholds,
when moving it around.
Ward piano tuning can replace and adjust the pedals for your piano.

(15) MOVING A PIANO.
Broken rollers on the bottom of a piano is common on most old
pianos, when the piano is moved around, the rollers will hang on
doorways, steps or other objects, instead of lifting the piano over
the obstruction, its forced forward breaking the rollers.
Broken rollers will do a lot of damage to the floor. Most smaller
piano legs are not designed to roll them around on,   the legs will
break off.
Moving a piano is very dangerous, its better to use professional
movers.
When moving a piano the higher off the ground or floor the more
dangerous it is.
As in the images above, left; To move a piano cut two pieces of 2"
pvc pipe 24" long, place them in the center of the piano, roll it
anyplace, when it rolls off one piece bring it around to the front,
keep doing this until its moved.  Using the PVC pipe keeps it as low
as possible to the floor. You can also move the piano across gravel,
or earth, by using two pieces of plywood.
The piano is easy to turn over, if it turns over it will be to  the
backside, The harp is located in the rear or back of the upright
piano, so thats  where most all the weight is. 
To load the piano on the truck, lift one end onto the tailgate, go to
the other end, lift it up and push it in, not hard, dont letit bump
into the cab of the truck.  Cover it with a heavy blanket, to prevent
damage. Strap it down good, block it good, make sure it dont roll
around.
Dont let anyone ride in the bed with the piano, if it moves,
its doubtful they can stop it.
If it turns over it will be to the backside, so with that in mind,
block  and strap it to prevent this from happening.
To move a grand to another location requires special moving
equipment, a grand skid board to strap it to, heavy blankets to wrap
it in, straps, and a piano dolly. The legs have to be removed also.
For a do it your selfer, moving a grand is a no, no.

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