Renner Wippens

[Ron Torrella]

On Fri, 7 Jul 1995 BDeTar@aol.com wrote:

> So....back to the concert....how did I give him an action with controlled
> friction all too shortly before the concert started?  I removed every other
> flange which gave me access to lick (why the piano remains annonymous!!) each
> bushing.  This introduced enough friction that he could gain control over
> even the softest note.  No, this was not a permanent solution.  I was in the
> next day and repinned all the flanges.  The touch weight changed slightly
> (about 3 more grams DW and a little less UW if I remember correctly), but it
> turned out that it changed for the better.  The other surprise, is that the
> piano SOUNDED better (save that for another discussion)!!  From that point
> on, I repinned most of the flanges I used when rebuilding or troubleshooting
> actions.

You inadvertently hit upon a part of the repinning process that I forgot
to mention in my earlier post--sizing the bushing.  Rather than using a
reamer (tapered or straight), I prefer to let nature do its thing in
making the bushing fit the pin.  I use a 10-15% water/denatured alcohol
solution--a drop on each bushing--then let everything sit for a day or
two.

Since it's a tedious procedure, if I expect my invaluable apprentice
to be unavailable for this operation, I'll do it a week or two months in
advance of when I need the parts.  I don't trim the pins until I've
determined that the friction is right.  This way, if it's too loose, I can
pop that pin out and replace it with the next size without wasting a pin
or *more importantly* wasting the bushing.  (I HATE it when that happens!)

(Torrella's Grand Delusion centerpin law:  The end of the centerpin that
will do the most damage to a new bushing is the end that will look most
attractive to the push-out pin on your centerpin extractors when
extracting said pin.)

Ron Torrella
School of Music         ** STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLY **
University of Illinois