Kimball Action

[Bill J. Barber]

I was recently called to review a donated church piano (Kimball 5'9" grand),
to determine the amount of work it needed.  Hammer reshapeing, voicing, some
regulation, and keybushings are all in order(some suprise!) .  However, the
action is impossible to remove from the piano; the hammers catch on the
pinblock about a quarter of an inch below the crown.

It would appear that the action was placed into the cavity, the hammer line
raised, and the hammer rest rail raised support the shanks.  In my haste, I
failed to measure the blow distance to determine if it was anywhere close to
correct, but the action seemed to play OK, with a reasonable amount of
aftertouch.

The lower support nuts on the rest rail are hexagonal, in very tight
quarters, but are accessible.  I am not sure how well a wrench will work to
drop them down.  I am hoping that once it is lowered, I will be able to
finaggle the hammers past the pinblock without lowering the hammer line.
Any suggestions?

Bill Barber, RPT