Refelting Pedal Lyre

[TunerJeff@aol.com]

Dear Avery,
(I do expect to be slammed... excuse me!... gently corrected by those more
sage... for some of my opinions, but... here goes.)

Regarding the pedal assembly and trapwork, my humble opinion is...;

     Properly regulated, the damper pedal will raise the dampers EXACTLY as
high as any given key... if not, then the damper up-stop rail will not do
it's job correctly. Too much movement in the pedal will force the up-stop
point to be above the level that a firm keyblow will raise a damper... and
there will be a noticable "bump" as the damper-head bounces up and off the
up-stop rail. It's really annoying!!!  I have solved more "problems" in loose
or sloppy feeling actions by adjusting the trapwork & up-stop rail than you
(or I) can believe.

     Properly regulated, the sostenuto pedal will NOT raise the dampers...
just collect them at the same level as the damper normally rises to in it's
travel (pedal or keyblow).
Damper-heads should not bobble no matter when a pedal is used or a key
played.

     Properly regulated, the shift-pedal (or "una corda"... a delightful
throwback to the days of pianos with only bichord unisons throughout. I HATE
the terms; "Soft & Loud pedals"!!!) will move the action so that the left
string is (not quite) cleared by the hammer-blow.
(This one will garner the most discussion... it's quite open to debate. At a
minimum... it MUST move the hammer over enough that it will strike the string
BETWEEN the deeper and denser 'string-lines' from normal postition
playing...ok? You need this for maximum amount of choices for the pianist...
pedaling is also more than on-off, ain't it?)

<<YES!>> The pedals should start level or very slightly up from level.

       I use felt similiar to the original stuff for most applications, with
one exception.
I ALWAYS reach for my box of hammer-felt scraps for the up & down extremes of
pedal movement, it's the most dense and longest lasting of the options we
have. Order a box of scraps from a supply house (they are cheap), and you
will be amazed at the uses you find for it. One of the advantages; It is
already in long tapered pieces that will help you to get the correct angle to
meet the pedals along the LENGTH of the pedal... not just at the edge where
they come down. Neat, huh? I aim for about (...let's see... hold up the
fingers...picture the last lyre I did....hmmmmm... yah, ok) about 1 1/2" of
felt to meet the pedal at the bottom of the stroke. I use a razor & scissors
to trim the felt for this. (Again, the angled scraps allow contact along the
full width & length of the contact point... not just the extreme edge. Think
of generations as you do this work... who knows how long it may be before a
tech gets in there again?!)

     If I don't have a clue to the original felts used (ie; they've been
replaced by a bozo along the way...), then I will line the 'holes' for the
pedal with bushing cloth (red/dense/woven) or backrail (green/woven/dense)
cloth or action cloth (gold/green/white... you get the idea)... depending on
the amount of space in there, and then use the hammer-stuff for the top and
bottom. It's presentable... and long-lasting. NOTHING works better or lasts
longer than that super-dense hammer scrap stuff. Really. Just for fun you
should cut apart a hammer and play with that white dense stuff... there's
nothin' finer for trapwork uses or hammer-rail stop-blocks.

     Take a good look at the trapwork, not just the pedals... but the levers
above, and look for stopping leather or felt that helped limit pedal travel
by stopping the levers that they  activate. Most shift-pedals have SOMETHING
to stop the lever... they didn't rely on the cheekblock to hold all the
'ooomph!' from a performer's foot. Usually a 60/40 amount on 'em will work.
60% stopped by the lever-pad-stop-or-felt and 40% by the cheekblock. Damper
and sost. pedals often have the same applied to them... look for traces of
glue if nothing else exists. You can WAY improve most pianos by working on
these aspects of the trapwork.
It really is more than "stomp & shove"... trust me.

Cringing in anticipation (of wiser words than mine) I remain,
Jeffrey T. Hickey, RPT
Oregon Coast Piano Service
TunerJeff @ aol.com


ps- If the pedals are rattling in their cage... fix it! Loose pedals with
excessive play will chew through anything you attempt. How do I know??? Don't
even ask! (I will say this; As you live your life... you get older... and
your mistakes come back to...er... educate you... ok?)

pps- In regards to Labor Day. Listen bub... school opens this week around
here!! I will be working on Monday, yah sure.. and have a great deal of work
to accomplish on that "holiday"-day. I have more band instruments to fix (I
also work on saxs, trumpets, clarinets, etc. for a local music store on a
part-time basis) and pianos to tune than I have hours in the day! I'm just
glad that the phone won't be ringing (quite) as much as usual... and I can
dis-regard it if I want to.
(I always tell myself that... but I always answer the damn thing! Still.. I
could ignore it! Really!)