Baldwin Action Problem

[Jim Coleman, Sr.]

Hi Paul again:

The reason for the pressure on the ball bolts is to stabilize the action
so that when you depress the sustain pedal, you will not get squeeks at
the ball bolts. OK, so maybe so action installer went overboard with the
pressure, just don't you go underboard or you'll be sorry. In the four
years I worked for the Baldwin factory, I never found an action bolt which
I could not remove and reinstall.

If you do lower the bolts, watch your hammer alignment which will move to
the left of the Bass strings and to the right of the Tenor strings. The
same thing happens with the dampers. The problem will be greater for the
hammers, because there is not much clearance from note to note anyway.

Jim Coleman, Sr.

On Sun, 18 Jul 1999 atonal@telusplanet.net wrote:

> 
> 
> > Thanks to all who replied to my question.  I did note how many turns I
> > made, and I'll just turn them up to where they were, minus a little
> > bit.  The bolts are also bent to fit into the action bracket cups, so
> > there's some more friction than necessary.  I don't care for the
> > arrangement, but there it is.
> >     Thanks again,
> >     Paul McCloud
> > 
> 
> Hi Paul, 
> 
> 	What model of Baldwin is it? The 6000 52" vertical, a Hamilton 
> 243 studio, or another model? The reason I ask is that I find that 
> dropping the action to the correct height so that the bolts fit in and 
> the subsequent re-regulation is the only long-term solution to fixing 
> this problem. The next tech (unless it's you) will be cursing the 
> bolts just as you did. I find that hammer strike point isn't a big 
> concern in the top end, because the hammers from factory are very 
> round and strike point is not greatly altered by dropping the action 
> the small amount needed. As for damper mis-alignment, the bass 
> dampers on both the Hamilton and 6000 models are attached to 
> the damper blocks by very flexible red felt, the dampers move to 
> realign to the string. Try twisting one of the damper heads out of 
> alignment, you'll see what I mean. 
> 	
> 	If the bolts are bent, they will need to be replaced. They are 
> easily obtainable from a better quality bolt supply shop. 
> 
> 	Just a quick note on top end hammers on the studio Baldwins. 
> I find that reshaping the top hammers to a sharper strike point 
> vastly improves the clarity of the top end tone, and gets rid of a lot 
> of hammer mass while you are at it. If you reset the action to line 
> up the bolts, and reshape the hammers to match this new setting, 
> you will get superior results to leaving the action dialed up so that 
> the action brackets are bending.
> 
> If this is a new Baldwin, or one within the warranty period, the 
> above repairs are warranty work. I have personally done several, 
> and have been reimbursed for my time. Call Kent Webb at 1-800-
> 876-2976 ext. 8585 to confirm.
> 
> Regards, 
> 
> Rob Kiddell RPT
> atonal@telusplanet.net   
>