stuck

[Richard Moody]

>a stack which is too 
> low, 

Hey don't look at me. I got most of those shims back in the right place
after I retreived them from the vacuum cleaner. I tink.  I am not saying
this happened with a Steinway action, scues me, stack...(A stack is a
player piano unit) 
But how could a stack be too low unless some one took it off and didn't
realize there were shims to shore it up? 

Heheh  We will find ways to keep the Steinway techs posting to the lists
on a regular basis.  

  

Richard Moody 

----------
> From: tech@steinway.com
> To: 'pianotech@ptg.org'
> Subject: RE: stuck
> Date: Friday, July 24, 1998 10:22 AM
> 
> Paul and List,
> 
> This is a good one!  Three of us sat around this morning trying to
figure 
> it out, and managed to come up with more questions than answers - e.g..
How 
> old is the piano?  Are the repetitions original? Are the hammers glued
at 
> the same place on the shank?  What is the keyheight?
> 
> General consensus was that both problems are probably related to stack 
> height and/or the new parts.  Larger Renner hammers, a stack which is
too 
> low, and (if the reps are new) a change in the repetition profile could
all 
> be the culprits.
> 
> It does seem that the blow is narrow and dip is shallow.  These should
both 
> be increased by lowering the capstans.  This will have the added benefit
of 
> solving the jack problem (test this out on any action).  Making this 
> adjustment with the backchecks out of the way should simplify and
clarify 
> the situation.
> 
> Unfortunately, it will aggravate the hammer/backcheck problem.  How high

> are the backchecks?  What is the distance between hammer tail and
backcheck 
> at let-off (should be 1-2 mm)?  How much larger are the new hammers? 
This 
> one is very hard to diagnose without seeing the piano, but raising stack

> height might give you the clearance you need.  Or, it might be necessary
to 
> trim some felt off of the hammer.  This solution has been used in some 
>  settings where very high checking was required for maximum repetition.
> 
> Whatever course of action you choose, keep in mind that the way the
action 
> plays is more important than measurements, it is not unusual for the
jack 
> to make some contact with the felt on the balancier, and the simple 
> solution is always the best solution.
> 
> This post was prepared with significant input from Gary Green, Steve
> Marcy, and Kevin Stock.
> 
> Stephen Dove
> STEINWAY & SONS
> New York
> 
> 
> 
> 
> -----Original Message-----
> From:	NBWW@aol.com [SMTP:NBWW@aol.com]
> Sent:	Wednesday, July 22, 1998 9:45 AM
> To:	pianotech@ptg.org
> Subject:	stuck
> 
> List
> 
> I was asked to regulate a Steinway B. What I found has me stuck. Two 
> things.
> When the hammers drop after releasing the keys they hit the top of the
back
> checks. Hammers are bored to factory specs. Checking is very good. No 
> amount
> of  repositioning the back checks seemed to solve the problem without
> compromising their function. The sesult is a slight "bump" feeling in
the 
> key-
> like you get when the under lever stop rail is set too high and the
dampers
> bounce.
> The other problem is the jack. With the dip at .375, blow at 1 5/8", the

> back
> of the jack is being pressed into the cushion in the back of the
balancier
> window. It is literally captured between that cushion and the let off 
> button.
> Increasing either the dip or blow distance makes the problem worse. At 
> these
> settings the action functions and feels good to me. I've done a lot of
> regulating in 22 years and I'm still learning, but I can't make sense
out 
> of
> these problems. I've seen the hammer problem on a Steinway D once and
the 
> jack
> problem on a Kawai GS 60. What have I missed? The college is trying the 
> piano
> today and I'm calling them next week for a report. There is evidence of 
> other
> techs attempts to deal with this piano and the current tech is smart
enough 
> to
> know its over his head. He's grateful to find some one to pursue the 
> problems-
> for there are many Steinways on the campus and in town that have no one
to
> service beyond tuning and some regulating.  Am I standing too close to
the
> trees to see the forest?
> 
> Paul Chick RPT