Wurly 112 Opinons.

[rossklemz]

Hey Board,

Hope this is a kosher way to seek advice, as every forum has their own 'rights and wrongs' about posting, esp. with new threads. I have just taken on my first Wurly project and it is from my understanding one of the harder ones, the 112. Mine is IMO good to very good condition cosmetically, with the action feeling fairly appropriate and the amp just receiving a freshen up. Nice and quiet.

I am however missing 13 reeds. A well regarded professional in your industry suggested to me that this is a donor board due to this and should save myself the headache. I am a professional guitar and amp technician with 10+ years of retail repair experience and do not shy away from a challenge easily and this just seems to be too beautiful of a piece of history to part out, not to mention with what people ask for a fully done up one, it'd prob be unrealistic (financially) for me to pop off for another in the future.

Sell me either way EP Forum, I am all ears. 

[pianotuner steveo]

Keep it! Fix it! When u eventually get the itch to get a 200 series piano, u can sell the 112, but I personally would keep it. I believe VV is selling new reeds to fit the 112?
I used to play a 112 in high school, but I've never owned one. Do u have the pedal?

[rossklemz]

I did get the pedal! I had to glue it back together, but it works.

And ya VV has reeds, just not real budget friendly.

Or I'm cheap. Prob the latter...

[beginnersluke]

It definitely sounds like you should make an effort to get the reeds. (Especially since they're possible to get.)

I mean, if yours is in above average condition, you can be patient and wait for something that is not good for much except parts and use that to fix up yours.

It definitely doesn't make sense to me to turn a generally nice example into a parts piano.

Luke

[pianotuner steveo]

112's are getting harder to find. You could wait a lifetime for a donor to get reeds from.
I would spend the money to get the reeds. You will have a gem when done, and you can always sell the piano all fixed up if you want a more modern version. It will retain its value.
Did you pay a lot for the piano?

[rossklemz]

I was very fortunate to receive the piano for no cost, under the "I wonder what Ross would do with this" clause. It was legit saved at the last minute, at the land fill. Pretty cool story.

[pianotuner steveo]

Then spending the money to buy the reeds would end up costing next to nothing in the long run since the piano was free. I once saved a 120 from the land fill and ended up selling it after fixing.
You may never see another 112. I haven't seen one in over 40 years!

[Fred]

based upon your description, your 112 sounds nothing like a donor, especially on account of missing reeds (a consumable component).

[DocWurly]

Get the new stock Vintage Vibe reeds.

I love Morelock's, I rely on them for any number of things.  But if you order "112 reeds" from them, you will get any random leftover reed they have, and the vast likelihood is that they won't fit.  This is the voice of sad experience.

[pianotuner steveo]

Morelock's is still in business? Wow. I remember many years ago they told me they didn't have much left.

[pianotuner steveo]

Any updates on this 112?

[rossklemz]

Doc reached out to check in with me, which I really appreciated. Here is what I told him.

I've done everything I think is needed from research, minus replacing the missing reeds and and tuning. Big step yet. I've went through the amp, installed a new power cable, fully disassembled and cleaned the piano and reassembled. Did some minor key leveling and easing and repaired a few broken hammers. It's playing and sounding and feeling really neat.  Prob needs a re felt for the dampers not long after reed replacement. I am however at a standstill right now as I just closed on a new home and am renovating and moving, SO it's gonna be a minute. hahaha.

[DocWurly]

You may want to replace the felts before doing the tuning.  It's easy.

The tuning is HARD on these.  Be in touch before you get into it, I have a few pointers for you that could save you days of work.

[CJ]

Hey everyone,

I recently came into a 112 as well. No pedal, stand, legs, or bench... But lucky enough to have all the reeds. It's a really charming keyboard.

In the process of replacing the dampers and key bed felt. The amp will need some love after that, then tuning.

Cosmetically it's worn to the point where its more purple than the tan color. Would it be a mistake to paint this thing? I'm kind of getting the urge to paint it...

There's a lot of oxidization on all the metal, especially the reed bar. the bolts that hold the reeds in place are pretty stuck too. Would it be safe to drench the reed bar in wd-40 to loosen things up? Whats the best way to remove the oxidization from the metal? Other than proper storage, what would be the best way to protect it from oxidizing again?

I'd love to get any pointers from anyone on fixing this thing up, especially the tuning part.

I'm sure I'll have more question to come.

Thanks!

[pianotuner steveo]

Absolutely do not spray any type of oil on the reeds. The reed bar pickup uses about 150vdc, and you will short it out if you do this. The reed pickups are not passive like a Rhodes or electric guitars.
You can gently clean the reeds with a qtip with a tiny bit of oil, but if you don't know what you are doing, it may be better to leave them be.

[CJ]

Hey Steveo,

Thanks for the reply.

I have the reed bar unhooked and pulled out so nothings running through it.

Is cleaning the oxidation off the reed bar and reeds not worth the results I'd get? There are a few reeds that are rusty so they'll need some sort of treatment anyway.

I still need to loosen the screws that hold the reeds down as they are stuck with years of oxidation. Is there anything safe I can use to loosen them up to avoid breaking them?

[pianotuner steveo]

Why do you need to loosen the reeds? The reed mounting bolt heads are very easy to snap...Especially if rusted. I wouldn't remove them unless absolutely necessary.
Loosening these bolts will also change the tuning, so keep that in mind- although maybe not as much in a 112 as in later models. (I don't remember if the 112 has the concave washers)  if so, reinstall with the hump side UP.
If you must remove any, flip the reed bar over and lubricate the threads from the bottom. I am speaking from experience with 120's and later, I am assuming 112's are the same way. I have played 112's, but have never serviced one. After the oil soaks in, use a socket wrench or closed end box wrench - you want a wrench that grips all sides of the bolt head at once.

I still wouldn't just spray oil on the reed bar even if disconnected. You would really need to wipe it all off to prevent shorts. If you miss small spots, it will either make that annoying crackling noise that dust/dirt/ and condensation can cause, or worse, it could damage the electronics.

[CJ]

Thats what I'm afraid of Steveo, I don't want to snap anything. It needs to be tuned a bit so eventually some of the reeds need to come out for filing or adding solder or just moved forward or back. I thought since some of them would be coming out it might be beneficial to take them all out and clean the reed bar of rust and oxidation. I heard somewhere that cleaning the actual spot where the reeds makes contact to the reed bar helps the reeds resonate better, is that true?  Also it looks like someone tried to tune this before and put some of the reeds in upside down as the solder is on the top of the reeds and not the bottom. Are the reeds okay to be left upside down like that? I guess it makes it a lot easier to access that solder.

Do you think I'm better off leaving the reeds as is and not cleaning them?

[DocWurly]

Reeds need to be pointing down in all 1950's models, ESPECIALLY in the 110, 111 and 112.  If you install them with the solder tips pointing up, the tuning becomes impossible: The washers are loose, not connected to the screws, and they wiggle around, which affects the tuning.  The only way to predict the pitch when you tighten the screws is for the tuning to be predicted by the position relative to the reed bar (forwards and back).  I could explain this more easily if I were looking at an actual 112 right now, but you'll have to take my word for it--On these models, because of the way the reeds are ground and their relationship to the washers and reed bar, flipping them is a nightmare with chaotic results.

Of course you have to retune these things, so of course you have to loosen the reed screws.  It's an unavoidably intensive process.  There are things you can do to keep the washers from friction-grabbing the reed screws and pulling them out of center.  Military secrets. They don't involve any permanent changes to any parts.  The reed bar has a grabbing texture to it under the reeds and you do NOT want to sand that away.

[pianotuner steveo]

I concur with DocWurly.