Talking Studley at The Piano Technicians Guild

Last month I was invited to speak at the annual national confab of The Piano Technicians Guild, held in St. Louis.  So Mrs. Barn and I hopped in the car and headed west, arriving on a day that was 99 degrees, quite a shock after leaving the mountains at about 70 degrees.

I made three presentations but the first one, on H.O. Studley and his tool box, was the one the audience awaited with greatest anticipation.  Actually I was excited about it as this was the chance to resolve unanswered questions about some of the arcane tools in the collection.

The audience was very enthusiastic, all the more impressive when you consider it was an 8AM(!) gathering.

Immediately following the lecture I signed a basket of books for those who had them in hand.  It was a great time of fellowship and exchanging, as many plausible (but often competing) versions of the esoteric tool functions were elucidated.

Alas, I cannot state with certainty that my understanding of Studley’s odd tools is fully cemented.