[CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

[Paul Milesi, RPT]

Ed wrote: ³When the damper pedal is set to lift the dampers almost as high
as the keys, and the upstop rail is set to touch the underlevers when they
are lifted by the key end felts, you will find an increased amount of travel
in the underlevers when the pedal is not employed.²

Ed:  Thank you very much for the detailed and interesting explanations.  I
understand everything you said except the above statement.  I don¹t see
where there is ³increased amount of travel.²  In either case, the
underlevers move from their rest position (which is not on the tray) to the
end of travel ‹ either with the key or slightly less with the tray.  How
does not having the pedal depressed increase the distance the underlever
travels?  I understand that the amount the underlever travels in contact
with the key end will be quite small when the pedal is already depressed,
but what does that matter?  If I understand you correctly, I do agree that
if the lift with tray is set to be significantly less than that with the
key, you will feel the contact point when playing.  I also understand and
agree that it is very important to minimize the lost motion in the damper
pedal (i.e., the distance between the tray and the underlevers).  Many miss
this point, and it has a significant impact on your sense of control when
pedaling.

By the way, I have checked all contact points for ³extra² felt shims, etc.
I¹m at bare bones on this one.  Since all 3 pedal rods are too long, and
only since I reconditioned the lyre, I have now concluded it is because the
pedal rest cushions are thicker than what was previously there, so I will be
cutting the rods later today.
-- 
Paul Milesi, RPT
Staff Piano Technician
Howard University Department of Music
Washington, DC



From: Ed Foote <a440a at aol.com>
Reply-To: <caut at ptg.org>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 19:44:41 -0400
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

 Paul writes:
>  Is it typical to adjust their thickness in some way?  I have on occasion seen
> felt on top of the cushion to adjust the rest position, but obviously in this
> case I don¹t want the rear of the pedal to be any higher than it is now.
        Before you decide where to adjust thickness, you may want to make
sure all the various levers are near their optimum position. It would be a
mistake to shorten the pedal rods because the pitman was too long.   The
pitman simultaneously contacts two rotating surfaces at it's ends, so their
angles repsective to one another bears a close look. Often there have been
extra pads or felt added to these surfaces, which increases the pitman's
effective length.    I think it is best to arrange all three components to
minimize the friction, so get the tray and damper lever working together,
first.  
      I want the damper  lever to be at such a height that the pitman is at
90 degrees to it when the pedal is half depressed. This not only minimizes
the scrubbing motion  but also allows maximum control right where much
half-pedaling occurs. Of course, you must have the damper tray at the
correct height for all this to mattter, which means the underlevers have to
be at the right height respective to the key end felts.
    A little off subject, but...... The off-set centers of rotation of the
damper tray and underlevers create ,imho, unacceptable tolerances in setting
the upstop rail.  Since the pedal will lift the underlever's center, there
must be extra room beyond where a key would lift the underlever.  When the
damper pedal is set to lift the dampers almost as high as the keys, and the
upstop rail is set to touch the underlevers when they are lifted by the key
end felts, you will find an increased amount of travel in the underlevers
when the pedal is not employed.  This discrepancy can be minimized by
minimizing the lost motion between tray felt and underlever, coupled with a
slightly shorter lift of the dampers by the tray.  However, if the tray
stops too short of where the key lifts the dampers, you will get an impact
feeling when playing with the pedal down.
Regards, 
 
Ed Foote RPT
http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
 
 
 


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