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My kid was practicing just now and a pencil fell onto the top of the fallboard, so he tried to retrieve the pencil by lowering the fallboard, and the pencil just fell right through. We cannot see the pencil. Is this a problem? Can I just leave it there until the next tuning?

Test the keys in the area where the pencil fell in by playing them very slowly and gently. Stop if you feel something "grabbing" the key as you depress it. If no problem then start playing the keys a little more vigorously, and if no problem in the feel presents itself-you may get along fine until your next tuning.

You might hear a rattle from the pencil resting along the back of the keys, but if you feel no binding hindrance, chance are no damage will occur.

I have seen pianos with 100's of pens and pencils in the action cavity and nothing broke but some did slow the motion of the keys and make playing problematic.

It happens all the time! As long as nothing is jamming up, don't worry - you might hear it rattling around as you play but it normally won't cause any damage. If you know how to remove the fall you should be more than capable of retrieving it, else ask your tuner to pop in when next passing. It takes just seconds and as long as he is passing and not making a special visit, should cost very little .... if anything.

If you tell us what kind of piano it is, we might be able to tell you how to remove the pencil.

Estonia L190.

It seems OK, thank you for the reassurance. I don't feel anything unusual. I heard a little rattle for a while but it seems to have disappeared. Maybe the pencil rolled out of the way?

From the picture below, it looks like the key cover may just lift out. If you hold it somewhere between completely open and a 45 degree angle you can probably pull it up and towards you and it will just lift out. If there are some tiny screws on either side, they will need to be loosened sufficiently.

Thank you, I tried but the fallboard will not budge!

Not to misdirect the thread, but the largest single item I've found that had "fallen through" was a yard stick. Nobody noticed.

Gary

I lost my watch down one in a practice room in my college days. Back then I didn't know the first thing about how to remove a key cover. It was a small grand so what I ended up doing was lifting up the back end until the front of the piano rested on a plastic chair! So the piano was kinda doing a handstand! I was able to fish my watch out, but then had a tough time getting the piano back down. I almost had to leave it with its tail in the air, but with heart pounding and one last good pull I managed to get it past its balance point and put its rear leg back on the ground. I've often thought it would be good college prank to put all the practice room pianos on end...You didn't hear it from me!

Pretty sure Estonia has set screws in the fall board hinge. One I take care of has the fallboard cut a little short and the pins are as well. It is almost impossible to get the thing back on after I remove it-but with some very careful centering-I get it back securely.

I do wonder how well it would work if the piano was in an arid clime.

Hotcat,

can you post a picture of what your fallboard looks like?

If there is a slot in the visible portion of the hinge, running parallel to the width of the piano, that needs to be aligned to the hinge pin before the fallboard will come out. Usually the slot is at the bottom of the hinge, though.

If there are no set screws in the visible portion of the hinge, and you can see that the top of the hinge is round, then the fallboard comes off with the cheek blocks. Removing it is a bit trickier, and you have to be careful that the cheek blocks do not fall to the floor when they come out with the fallboard.

Here is a picture:

OK. that screw needs to be loosened before the key cover will lift out. Usually you don't have to take it out completely, but it might.

I am afraid to try that! I am afraid to do anything with my piano. It is my baby!

There is no harm in leaving the pencil there until the next tuning. You might put a note under the piano desk now for the tuner, in case you forget about it over the next few months.

I agree with Zeno. In answer to your original question, there is no harm in leaving the pencil in there and telling your tech about it at the next visit.

I remember so clearly my anxiety in removing fallboards -- especially those involving screws -- when I was at piano tech school. After practice and experiment, it became much easier and then became routine. But just because a lot of people on this board really enjoy taking things apart (which is to be expected!) does not mean that you have to, or that you would enjoy it, or that we can guarantee no harm would come to your piano as you remove the fallboard for the first time.

Trust your stomach. Best wishes --

I recently pulled the fallboard on a 10yr old Estonia. The easy part was the fallboard. Lower it from full open position just a tad, then lift the fallboard out of the slots in the hinge bracket.

The hard part was the cheek blocks and key slip...but you don't need to do that.

Cheek blocks had those nice captured wing nuts under the key bed, but it was not clear whether the dovetail on the cheek blocks allowed them or the key slip to come out first. On the one I service, cheek blocks first. Key slip had no screws under the key bed. It just had metal pins inserted into the key bed. However, the fit of the pins in the key bed holes was so tight, you would have thought it was screwed on. Heavy metal key slip...needed an engine hoist to lift the sucker .

ji