At 06:54 AM 1/20/99 PST, Ron wrote: >I recently worked on a Steinway L (431725) that had a clunk sound on key >release. I'll go back to check on it, but I took a few mins. to look it >over. [...] >I observed that the knuckles seemed really hard. > >Has anyone seen this before? Yes... lots! Not only are they hard but often made from very ugly and rough skins. Some had no leather at all, just the white roller "felt". >What is going on - what can I do for this instrument? Take your short voicing needles and very carefully go over a couple of the noisiest note's knuckles with them trying not to go *all* the way through the skin into the knuckle core. You'll probably hear/feel the needles crunch a bit as they go through the leather and you'll learn how to feel when to stop. Drop them onto the balanciers and compare the sound. It's likely that about half the "clunk" will be gone and by carefully working with them a bit perhaps even more. Brush lightly with a brass suede brush when you're done. The best fix is to replace the knuckles with good quality ones, but needling them often brings the noise down to an acceptable level, at least temporarily. Knuckles are a "pet peave" of mine. If they aren't near-perfect in size, shape and leather type don't mess with them, replace them or at least recover them if the core is good. John John Musselwhite, RPT - Calgary, Alberta Canada Registered Piano Technician http://www.musselwhite.com email: john@musselwhite.com
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