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I've got a couple of grands, one old, and then the CE-175's at the Shout House, that need new pivot hardware. All Schaff carries is one 'generic' pivot/hinge, and I don;t think it will work on either application.

Does anyone have another source for this kind of thing?

Having been there (at the Shout House), I have a hunch I know why the fallboard pivot hardware is failing. In that application, you need to go with something beefier which will take the strain. How about farm gate hinges?

I have not been to the shout house, but have read about it. I would just screw it in the stretcher. Right thru to the pin block. Two large screws easily removable and tightened.

Check with the distributor if the piano is still in production.

It's tempting...

On the previous pianos (Korean K&C's), I came up with some creative solutions, because the pivots were completely trashed by the time I came onto the scene. On one, I used a steel bicycle cable lug holder - the little cylindrical bit that retains the cable lug - for a pivot pin, and it lasted for three years.

The Brodmanns have soft-close fallboards, so the left side pivot is steel and looks like it will go the distance. The right side pivots are more traditional-looking brass fixtures, and they've almost worn to the point that the open fallboard is resting on the keys. I'm thinking that if I can keep up with replacing those before other parts of the fallboard become so damaged I have to jerry rig something.

I would do that, but then the players would no longer be able to slam the fallboards...

I've had horrible luck trying to get any kind of reply from Brodmann in the past, but i guess that might be worth a try.

Why would anybody slam a fallboard?

Just to be clear, how is it wearing out? Is the hinge wearing or the pivot pin? Pivot pins are often just screws with the heads cut off, so they can be removed, the hole filled with a dowel, and replaced. Hinges are usually brass, and can be peened back into shape. Or you could add an insert.

Unusual circumstances. Reade ye here.

Now I understand...

Everything I read about that Shout House place makes me laugh. It entails about everything that is classified as piano abuse, and makes entertainment out of it. Farm gate hinges might be the only effective answer.

I've heard that Sandy Eggo has a SVU dedicated to musical instruments. Abuse runs rampant in the city!

Seriously: If the original brass fittings are getting worn out, get a machinist to make replacements out of a tough alloy steel. They should last five to ten times as long. Contact me off list for a referral.

Both the pins and hinges are wearing out. The pins are brass, on little square mounting plates that are screwed into the case.

Jurgen, I think that's the safest bet.

I was hoping I could find a source for replacements and just keep swapping them out, but if that's not the case, as it seems, then this is the route I should take.

Is it just my imagination or whenever there is a problem with a S.H. piano, a welder needs to be consulted?

Welder, machine tool operator, carpenter, dance instructor...

Ya know Jim, if your pianists only played Gavottes and Allemandes, your lid scratch problem would be solved.