Steinway traveling & other

[A440A@aol.com]

     Regarding the difference between the stated procedures and what we
actually encounter in the field:

        I often see Steinway B pianos that have a hammer travelling at
  either note #27 or # 28.   The slight widening between these two notes is
due to the hitch pins separated by the casting. If your hammershanks and
hammers are sitting there obeying first principles,(straight up and down,
travelling, etc.)  the hammers are going to have a very noticable gap.  If
these two notes are evenly spaced, you can bet that one or both are
travelling.  This can be seen quickly from the bench, and often is worth
pulling the action and checking the rest of the travel.
      There are other things coming out of many factories that are worth
checking.  Excessive lateral pressure in the damper wires is one.  The
regulator may get the dampers past the supervisor because everything looks
and operates straight,  but if you individually press the damper wires from
side to side, often it is found that many are bearing with a lot of force on
one side of the guide rail bushing.  Under heavy use, the damper will migrate
sideways,gradually becoming looser and more out of line with the string,  the
underlever pinning will also begin loosening up, what looked beautiful six
months ago now looks like a swarm of locusts!!

      I don't mean to sound overly nit-picky, but at the school, heavily used
pianos, with poor travelling,  wear the pinning out in a hurry.  This is a
functional consideration.

     Now, I must return to work, gotta travel all these  sostenueto tabs->
 (8)}}
Regards,
Ed Foote