[CAUT] Protek and Sluggish Dampers

[Mary Smith]

Hi Tim, Tom, Lawrence and al (whoever he is),

I would second Tom's point here to treat ALL the guide rail bushings (and 
wires, as you mentioned, Lawrence) now. Sometimes, when the weather 
changes, weird things happen. Just accept it and fix it, and life is so 
much simpler. Damper wires need to be free in the bushings. Any attempt to 
"cheat" by keeping bushings tight, or regulating wires to bear too heavily 
against the cloth, will lead to callbacks (yuck). If you free up all the 
wires now, when the humidity is up, you should solve the problem.

Regards,
Mary

At 09:36 AM 3/24/2005 -0600, you wrote:
>Hi Tim,
>
>I remember this happening to me on a Baldwin grand, circa late 70s. After
>observing much of what you described, I ended up removing the damper guide
>rails and sizing the cloth with methanol and water. I inserted bridge pins 
>into
>each hole while I dried the cloth with a heat gun and that seemed to work just
>fine. No further problems.
>
>Good luck,
>
>Tom Seay
>The University of Texas at Austin
>
>Quoting "Becker, Lawrence (beckerlr)" <BECKERLR@UCMAIL.UC.EDU>:
>
> > Tim et al.-
> >
> > I have had something come up this last week where Protek CLP was present,
> > though not necessarily the culprit.  It was the first time I had seen this
> > piano, a 1966 Baldwin M scale.  I was hired to tune, but noticed that 
> when I
> > pressed the damper pedal and released quickly, two dampers were slow to
> > return.  I put Protek on the guide bushings, worked the dampers a few 
> times,
> > and all seemed in order.  Two days later, prior to a run-through of the
> > customer's recital (he plays violin), he called to say one damper would 
> just
> > stay up in the air, and not return without being pushed back down.  I
> > returned and found that damper extremely sluggish, and several others slow
> > as well.  I hadn't written down which dampers I'd put the CLP on; I don't
> > know if they are the same notes.
> >
> > These dampers are sluggish due to friction with the guide bushing; no 
> flange
> > friction problems or sostenuto interference.  I removed the offending
> > dampers, ironed the bushings with a bridge pin in a rheostated 25-watt
> > heating iron, sprayed a little TFL-50 on the bushings, and polished the
> > damper wires with 4/0 steel wool.  Initially only three dampers seemed
> > sluggish, but two more slowed up while I was working, so I treated them 
> too.
> > The day after his run-through, the customer called to say yet another 
> damper
> > had initially not returned, though after pushing it back down, they got
> > through the program.
> >
> > I suppose I need to iron all the guide bushings, but why has this started
> > now?  (Really-I don't think it was my tuning technique.)  It is toward the
> > end of our heating season here, and we have had rain recently.  I couldn't
> > tell if the damper wires were contaminated; they felt greasy, but it could
> > have been my imagination.  It just occurred to me to check the upstop rail.
> > What else?  And again, why now?
> >
> > Advice hereby solicited.
> >
> > Lawrence Becker, RPT
> > Piano Technician
> > College-Conservatory of Music
> > University of Cincinnati
> >
> >  -----Original Message-----
> > From:         Tim Coates [mailto:tcoates1@sio.midco.net]
> > Sent: Monday, March 21, 2005 11:09 PM
> > To:   University Technicians College
> > Subject:      [CAUT] Protek and Sluggish Dampers
> >
> > Has anyone ever had dampers become sluggish after applying Protek to
> > damper guide rail bushings?  I checked the archives for both Pianotech
> > and Caut.  I don't see any mention of this happening.
> >
> > Tim Coates
> > University of South Dakota
> > University of Sioux Falls
> >
> > _______________________________________________
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> > _______________________________________________
> > caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives
> >
>
>
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