[CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

[Paul Milesi, RPT]

Thank you, Norman.  I¹d never heard of folks making their own pedal rest
cushions, and now know that I can add this little technique to my arsenal of
skills.
-- 
Paul Milesi, RPT
Staff Piano Technician
Howard University Department of Music
Washington, DC



From: Norman Cantrell <normancantrell at sbcglobal.net>
Reply-To: <caut at ptg.org>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 15:45:37 -0700 (PDT)
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

Paul
 
You are referring to the Steinway rest cushions which have also been
referred to as the "ravioli" in earlier posts.  These are simple to
manufacture on your own and in doing so you can control the overall
thickness.  The cushions consist of a sandwich of two layers of leather with
a felt center.  To make them use a forstner bit to drill a hole 7/8 diameter
in the center of a block of wood that measures roughly 2' by 2".  Drill to a
depth of no more than 3/8".    Take two oversized squares of leather (1 1/2"
by 1 1/2" or so) and lay the first square of leather over the center of the
hole.  Next take a front rail punching of your choice of thickness and lay
it in the dimple of the hole in the block of wood.  Coat the visilble
leather with glue and place the second square over the first aligning as you
go.  Take a second block of wood 2" by 2" and place it over the first block
to form a clamping caul.  Install a clamp of choice until the glue is dried.
Once it is dry remove it from the blocks and trim to size.  Usually I use
two types of leather.  A thicker suede is used for the bottom (non domed)
portion of the ravioli and a thinner cabretta or pig skin is used for the
top layer as it more easily shapes around the felt punching.  By gluing only
leather to leather you can avoid hard spots that are potential noise makers.
These ravioli are a great design because of the long lasting qualities of
the leather contact area.
 
Norman Cantrell, RPT


From: "Paul Milesi, RPT" <paul at pmpiano.com>
To: PTG CAUT List <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Sun, August 15, 2010 4:04:54 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

Jon,

After installation of the new pedal cushions, the pedals ended up pretty
much level I¹d say, which I liked.  Being a pianist myself, I judged the
feel with the lyre on the piano, and don¹t believe I¹d want them much higher
or lower.

You refer to the cushion rest ³package.²  Do you mean something more than
the stuffed leather cushions that are tacked to the bottom board?  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.  I
suppose it would be possible to squash them in a vise to thin them, but that
doesn¹t seem like it would be desirable, as it might introduce more noise?
Just curious as to best practices in this area.

Paul
-- 
Paul Milesi, RPT
Staff Piano Technician
Howard University Department of Music
Washington, DC



From: Jon Page <jonpage at comcast.net>
Reply-To: <caut at ptg.org>
Date: Sun, 15 Aug 2010 16:03:14 -0400
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway Pedal Lyre Regulation After Reconditioning

> is that the new pedal cushions ("ravioli") are
> thicker than the originals.


In deciding on the thickness of the rest 'package',
consider the inclination of the pedals at rest.

Probably set them level to start, knowing the felt will compress
and the pedal will rise in the front. But I still start with the front
slightly higher than level to allow the pedal to traverse through
level but not so much that once the compression happens, the
pedal is too high.

In other words, use your best guess...

Regards,

Jon Page



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