Bent Action Rail

[Marcel Carey]

Hi Paul,

I had this situation a few years back except the piano was new and it fell
while in it's box. There were ne cabinet damages but the action rail had
bent. Yamaha Canada advised me that the rail could be bent back. I just
supported both ends of the action, removed a few butts in the center and
then used a piece of wood and pushed it back. I really had to push rather
than bang on it. I used a thread to measure the gap in the middle and was
able to bring it back very close to a straight line. Then comes the
regulation. First start with the pedal damper lift and then the spoons. I
took me about 3 hours and the piano has been fine since then. I think this
procedure would take you less time than replacing the complete rail.

Marcel Carey, PRT
Sherbrooke, QC

At 20:45 97-12-03 -0800, you wrote:
>List:
>	I have a moving company repair job that I would like to get some
>opinions on.  The piano is a Yamaha U1E, about 6 years old.  It was
>apparently let go and landed on the front arms and top area (upright
>piano).  I will be doing the cosmetic repairs to the poly finish, but
>tonight I discovered that the action rail is bent.  The dampers don't
>work in the center of the piano, since they are too far from the
>strings.  This particular action doesn't have a center action bracket
>(which would have saved the action from damage). I am not sure whether
>to try just bending the rail back, or to recommend replacement.  If I
>replace the rail, I am not sure how much to estimate, since there may be
>a lot of regulating to do.  If I bend it, I'm not sure where or how to
>hold the rail, since all the action parts are screwed to it.  Obviously,
>if I have to remove the parts to clamp the rail to straighten it, I
>might as well replace it.  Thanks for any input.
>	Paul McCloud, RPT
>	San Diego, CA
>
>