Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Old story and clark upright piano help!

I just bought a very old story and clark off this lady, I've fixed a few problems but I still have three problems. one- the jacks do not return to rest under the hammer butt, they stay on the curve not letting the back check come back down. How do I fix that? Two- Some of the hammers do not reach the strings unless I press the key very hard. And Three- The tuning pins wont turn. Any help would be nice.

This 'problem' alone indicates the need for kerosene and a match...

The jack problem sounds like you don't have lost motion...an upright needs a tiny bit. Lower the capstan.

But seriously...#3's a deal-breaker...

What are you using to try to turn the tuning pins?

Yes, lost motion and a complete regulation is probably in order. On an old upright this will be a challenge even for a tech with medium level experience. Old pianos have compressed felts, worn buckskin, and a host of other issues.

The tuning pins wont turn? You probably are not using the proper tool, and probably dont know how? Strictly a guess on my part.

Regardless of what others may say, your best best would be to find a good piano technician, to see exactly what your pianos needs.

I'll second Ron's suggestion. Too many possible causes for the various problems to even begin to diagnose here. Call a tech, but be prepared to have the property condemned.

Buying an old piano like that is an iffy proposition. You may think you're getting a good deal, but when you think of the time and money you may have to spend just to get it functioning at a very basic level, you're really not getting such a bargain after all.

Then sometimes you get lucky and get a nice old box in pretty good shape. I wouldn't wager the farm on it, though.

Are you aware that the tuning pins are supposed to be hard to turn?

They need to be tight to resist the pull of the strings,in case you didn't know.

The first two problems might be related to each other,but by all means,let a tech check a few things.

What did you like about the piano that you decided to buy it?

This post reminds me of the customer I had years ago who used a 3/8" allen wrench in a 3/8" 1/4" drive socket. He used the 1/4" hole over the tuning pins to do his tuning complaining of the difficulty of turning several of the pins. He asked me to look at it. It was a "project" piano in his garage.

As it turned out, the difficult pins were the only ones capable of holding the strings at pitch. The rest were nearly falling out!