[CAUT] sostenuto tap springs

[Paul T Williams]

Hi All,

One of our Steinway D's had a problem this past Saturday (my only day off 
until the end of the semester!!)  Some of the middle dampers were not 
engaging when the sos pedal was depressed.  I checked the rod and it was 
in perfect position.  After putting the action on a table, I noticed a 
problem; the damper lever sos tabs were in a down position, then noticed 
that the springs had "slipped" off the damper wire flange... A very 
strange thing I had not seen before.  I was able to use a string hook and 
grab them from behind the flange and move them back to the front.  A 
couple of them accidently broke (or bent beyond use) so the tabs would not 
spring up. Fortunately for both me and the pianist, they were two notes 
she was not going to use in her piece!!! My heart rate fell dramatically 
upon this good news :>) 

Is there an easy fix to get new springs in them, or am I stuck with 
pulling the damper action out and replacing the lever systems on the 
broken ones? Very time consuming for 2 springs :>(   I also noticed during 
this trauma that some of the tabs were a bit sluggish on their return.. 
How does one strengthen the springs, or is this possible? They're made of 
such thin wire, I would be afraid of breaking more...

Looking forward to Christmas Break...(or should I say winter break, 
holiday break, mental break.....?)

Thanks

Paul T. Williams RPT
UNL
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