Piano Tuning: A Simple and Accurate Method for Amateurs

by J. Cree Fischer

After a little experience you will be able to make an examination of an organ and tell just what it needs without so much as drawing a screw. The reeds are usually divided into treble sets and bass sets; two octaves of bass reeds, and three octaves of treble reeds constitute a set. The Diapason stop is nearly always present, and controls the heaviest reeds in the bass except the Bourdon or Sub Bass, if the organ should have either of these. In examining an organ, close all stops but the Diapason, for instance, then successively press every key in the two bass octaves.

Now if, for instance, a key is found silent, that is, just an octave from the lowest tone, by counting the keys from the lowest tone, you will find the silent key is number thirteen. Look into the organ, find the mute that is up by reason of this Diapason stop's being pulled, and count the reeds from the lowest to the thirteenth; pull the reed and you will find it obstructed or perhaps broken. Most organs have a Dulciana stop in the treble which corresponds with the Diapason in the bass. Test the reeds of this set just as you did those of the Diapason. Go over each set of reeds in like manner. Broken reeds should be sent to the factory where the organ was built. The manufacturers will send a new one, often without cost.

Stops are sometimes found disconnected from the mutes, which deprives the player of the use of certain sets of reeds, and while it is a small matter to connect them, it adds much to the improvement imparted to the instrument by the tuner. After disconnecting the stops for any purpose, always be sure you connect them properly before leaving your work.

Sticking Keys.

The key itself is subject to many of the same faults as is that of the piano. It may bind in the guide pin or warp so as to cause it to stick, or it may stick from some substance between the keys. Sometimes the front board is so near the front of the keys that when the latter are depressed they stick against it. A screw is generally found in the center, the head of which comes against the front board and holds it out. If the board is too near give the screw a turn or two back. If there is no screw, place a piece of card against the board and the case at the ends. The end keys sometimes stick against the blocks at the ends of the key-board. Scrape the block or key where it sticks. A key may stay down because of the cedar pin, sometimes called the tracker pin or pitman, sticking in the hole. Take out the key-board which is held by a screw at each end, sometimes by another in the middle; in which case a key or two must be removed to get at it. To remove a key, take off the strip at the back of the keys, held in place by small screws, and the key may be lifted up. Now, finding the sticking pin, pull it out and sandpaper or rub it with black lead until it is found to work quite freely in the guide hole of the guide board and the hole in the reed board.

Just under the reed board is a wooden slip covered with soft leather, called the valve or pallet, which covers the openings in the reed board which admit air to pass down through the reeds. The tracker pin, pushed down by the key, opens the pallet which is held against the reed board by a spring and kept in place by a guide pin at each end. It sometimes happens that a pallet will be pushed down so far as to catch on the guide pins and cause the tone to sound continually. In other cases a piece of dirt will get in the way of the pallet and prevent it from closing the opening. If this be the case, draw the reeds that sound when this key is depressed and also a reed at each side of it, and pump the bellows briskly, at the same time pressing the three keys. This will generally create enough air to remove the obstacle. If the key still sounds and cannot be made to "hush up" in this way, you may be compelled to take out the entire action so that you can get to the pallets, which can be done by removing all the screws that hold the reed board in place. At the back, these screws are on top of the board and sometimes they are on top in front; but often they are under the air chamber in front. Be sure the screws are all out before trying to pull the board loose, as you might crack the board and thereby cause a leak. A moment's notice will reveal the cause of the trouble in the pallet.

New pallet springs may be made of piano wire, using old springs for a pattern.

Leaks.

If a leak is found in the air boards, such as a crack or split, it can be stopped permanently by gluing a piece of bellows cloth or any good rubber cloth over the split. A leak in the bellows can be repaired in the same way, but if it happens to be a hole at or near a part of the cloth which is compelled to bend in the working of the bellows, you will have to use some kind of rubber or leather cement, preferably the latter. This can be made by dissolving gutta-percha in bisulphide of carbon, but a good leather cement may be had at almost any shoe store. If the bellows are porous, it may be well to give them a coat of cement, but never paint them; the paint cracks and the leaks are made worse.

Pedal Detects.