damper tray disaster

[barre46@ibm.net]

Be sure to check the damper pedal upstop capstan located on the underside of the
keybed. If it is too high and the damper underlevers are allowed to be driven to
the damper upstop, it puts a tremendous strain on the damper lift tray flanges. I
have seen one case where the center pin of the lift tray flange was sheared
leaving the remains of the pin in the birds eye and the rest of the pin in the
felt of the flange. This of course allowed the tray to start whipping around and
began walking the other center pins for the tray or breaking them.

Norm Barrett
Memphis, TN.



CAPSTANDAN@AOL.COM wrote:

> Dear list,
> I've been servicing a 1985 Young Chang concert grand which has a player mech.
> installed (it's inside a hotel's lobby). The dampers - starting at about the
> break
> between the tenor & the bass sections are gradually lifting very little to not
> lifting at all (in the mid to lower bass.  A colleague tech. (who originally
> installed the player), tried to reinforce the tray by attaching an angle iron
> to the bottom of it all the way across, but it didn't make any difference -
> the tray appears to bow each time the sustain pedal is depressed.  I called
> Young Chang-
> trying to get a new ALUMINUM tray but they informed me -it takes 3-4 mos. to
> get it shipped to the U.S & by that time the budget the hotel allotted for the
> job will disappear.  I did check the flanges which allow the tray to "swing "
> up & down, & they seem fine.  Young Chang is sending me another wooden tray at
> my request.        <By the way, the action is a Renner action>
> Got any ideas to "beef" up the new tray?  There isn't much clearance in that
> cavity. The original tray is made out of thinly- vertically laminated pin blk.
> material(3/8" wide). I could possibly go to 1/2" I suspect.
> Thanks for putting up with such a detailed question.
> -Dan Amihud  RPT
> Westlake Village, Ca.