Steinway regulation

[Ken Jankura]

At 06:57 AM 5/20/99 -0400, you wrote:
>At 6:09 AM -0400 5/20/99, JIMRPT@AOL.COM wrote:
>>Bill;
>> This may be a semantics thingee but.............how do you set "aftertouch"
>>on the workbench when you just have the keys and keyframe in front of you?
>>Specifically, how do you set .050 aftertouch in that siuation ?
>>Jim Bryant (FL)
>
>I wouldn't expect to. It is always done in the piano, usually halfway
>through the mechanical reg. You need for the blow and let-off to have
>settled down and the jack-knuckle has to be in place. (Keyframe bedding is
>done long before that.) And it's good practice to make sure that everything
>has had at least a rough pass. But the final pass on drop, rep lever
>height, rep spring and check are based all on aftertouch.
>
>Anything done with the front rail punchings done on the bench is usually
>more a rough dip, just fat enough to insure I can set a letoff. The
>scenario here usually involves starting the keyframe off with fresh felt.
>
>Bill Ballard, RPT
>New Hampshire Chapter, PTG
>
>
>
I've had some success with using the existing key dip to simulate the
keybed as best I can. In the piano, after bedding the keyframe, I measure
the dip of all the Cs using a weight for accuracy and repeatability. On the
bench, before any dismantling or reconditioning, if I can set dip to those
specs, I think the frame will be very close to being at 'home'. Veneer
under the back rail, reset the glide bolts, shims under the front rail
(having eyeballed the front rail to a straight edge helps here), whatever
is necessary to get the dip exactly as it was in the piano. Mark the spot
on the bench and note the shims, etc. Then you can go ahead and
recondition, and regulate and set aftertouch on the bench with better
accuracy.
Ken Jankura
Newburg, PA