Knowing nothing at all about making the things, Could that be a nylon bearing? maybe a squirt of silicon would do no harm? Colin Hill ----- Original Message ----- From: "Melissa Kacalanos" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> To: <[email protected]> Sent: Saturday, July 15, 2006 9:56 PM Subject: [HG] squawking peacock
> A friend of mine has a beautiful-looking French-style hg that has been unplayable for some time. The wheel is hard to turn even when all the strings are off, and the wheel makes a horrible squawking noise whenever it moves. It sounds like rubbing a balloon or sitting on furniture with vinyl slipcovers. It's very loud, and it gets higher the faster you turn it. It might be possible to play the sqeak like some avant-garde instrument, but it doesn't sound like a hg should. > > The wheel isn't hitting the wood anywhere that I can see, and everything looks to be in order. Nothing looks warped or cracked, and it looks in general like a well-maintained instrument, although dusty from its disintegrating case. The crank itself is fine. The one odd thing I noticed is at the center of the wheel, which I can of course barely see since the soundboard and bridge are in the way. It's a different design than my hg, so I'm describing it here in case that's the problem. Or if this is perfectly normal, then the problem must be something else, so I welcome suggestions. > > The wheel looks to be centered with a metal disk that's exactly the same diameter as a white plastic disk on the axle at the right side of the wheel (That is, between the wheel and the bridge.) They're maybe a couple of centimeters in diameter. The metal disk and the plastic disk seem to be pressed together quite firmly. When you turn the wheel, the metal disk, being part of the wheel, turns, but the plastic disk doesn't. > > I don't know if it's supposed to work like this, but it seems to me that having two disks pressed together, one turning and one stationary, will result in squeaks, particularly if any rosin gets between them. Is the plastic disk supposed to be moving together with the wheel and axle? Or maybe this metal and plastic disk combination has bearings inside, but they're not working properly. Or maybe this isn't the problem at all, but the problem's at the left end of the axle which I can't see. Any ideas? > > On the side of the keybox that faces the player, there's a large letter R and the word Frankfurt, which should identify the maker. Judging from the rest of the hg, the maker seems quite skilled, so would be the best source of advice if on this list. > > Melissa > > > --------------------------------- > How low will we go? Check out Yahoo! Messenger's low PC-to-Phone call rates.
