Baldwin ST Problem

[David Ilvedson]

Dave,

I live on the SF Pennisula and have run into very little rust problems except for leaking pipes into the piano, etc.   I have installed 1 dampchaser in 30 years.   I know I'm missing out on a money maker, but I haven't seen the need.   Stable climate year round.   I live 4 blocks from the ocean and my Kawai isn't rusting beyond normal discoloration.   

David Ilvedson, RPT



----- Original message ---------------------------------------->
From: Dafydd Llwyd Talcott <75711.1537@compuserve.com>
To: College and University Technicians <caut@ptg.org>
Received: Tue, 6 Jul 2004 20:15:08 -0400
Subject: Baldwin ST Problem

>Collective Wisdom--

>Over the past few months I have been working on a friend's smallish
>grand, a Baldwin model ST. The thing is in almost perfect physical
>shape except for the strings, which were rusted and many broken.
>I have two small questions for the group:

>1.  When I questioned my mentor, a longtime local piano tech, about
>installing
>a Dampp-Chaser system, his instant response was "No way; not in this area!"
>We are in the San Francisco Bay Area, whcih CAN be dampish, depending on
>where you live. The Baldwin's strings were badly rusted, along with the
>tuning
>pins. Perhaps my buddy has only had trouble with the equipment, the
>manufacturer,
>or the installation procedure. I have no idea, and have had no experience
>with
>these popular systems. Any ideas or guidelines? (Incidentally, the piano
>has since 
>been restrung.)

>2.  The piano's owner tells me that another tech "rebuilt" the action, but
>does not
>remember exactly what was done. I've seen evidence of hammer sanding (fluff
>still inside the action), and the keydip was apparently set too shallow
>(according
>to factory specs). I cannot see any evidence of hammers being replaced, but
>after we reinstalled the action two or three of the top hammers were
>hanging up.
>They were so far in that the hammer heads were striking the damper rail!
>To get them to clear I've had to move the action so far forward that the
>adjustable
>key blocks are at their limit and the key fronts are grazing the keyslip,
>unless we
>leave it loose.  This is bad.  I suppose what I should next do is measure
>the strike
>point for the upper two octaves or so and see wnere they should be, using
>the 1/7
>rule as a guide.   Is rehanging the hammers the only solution? And how
>might this
>condition have been created? I'm no neophyte but this really has me
>puzzled.

>Thanks for anyone's suggestions or observations.

>Cheers,

>Dave Talcott  
>_______________________________________________
>caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives