balance rail bearings

[Joe & Penny Goss]

Bob,
I seem to remember a freebie given out at a convention a while back that
might be of interest to you.
It was one of those tools that you could make from a coat hanger.
I do not remember the dimentions but perhaps someone else on the list will.
The purpose of the tool was to hold a section of keys up so that you could
remove or add the punchings.
Joe Goss
http://www.primenet.com/~imatunr/#15
----- Original Message -----
From: Robert A. Anderson <fndango@azstarnet.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, October 02, 1999 6:11 PM
Subject: Re: balance rail bearings


> Newton wrote:
>
> "By standing the action on the back rail and protecting the stretcher
> from the drop screws one can move the keys and bearings far enough to
> see what is under the bearing and remove what is needed with a good
> pair of forceps."
>
> Newton, the bearing strip is 4 mm thick and butts up against the
> bearings. Lifting the key and bearing as high as possible will only let
> me see down the pin a fraction of a mm below the top of the strip. I
> admit that I can fish for the punchings with my forceps and raise them
> above the level of the strip, but I can only do this for the naturals. I
> have a very good forceps, and I can't reach the punchings for the
> sharps. There just isn't enough room.
>
> Newton also wrote:
>
> "Steinway, or any manufacturer, is cheap and will not do anything they
> do not have to do even if we do not always understand their
> rationale.  DOn't mess with it unless you really understand it."
>
> Manufactureres may be cheap, Newton, but the rest does not automatically
> follow. I'll bet that you could find manufacturing practices that are
> only done by tradition or that manufacturers might have psychological
> commitments to keep going. For example, balance rail bearings themselves
> are not cheap, but I have never been personally told by anyone that they
> could tell the difference in touch between a key with the bearing and
> one without the bearing. (I can't tell the difference.) I've noticed
> hearsay evidence that the bearings are better, and it makes a good
> marketing story for S&S. But I'm not convinced.
>
> Newton also wrote:
>
> "The strips are their to prevent the bering from twisting."
>
> This is the logical explanation for the strips. As I wrote, I'll find
> out how much twisting is going to happen, now that I've removed the
> front strip. I'll report back with my observations. Can I assume that
> your statement is one of logical inference, Newton, or have you really
> taken out the strip and observed twisting? I can certainly twist loose
> bearings easily enough, but they shouldn't be loose. I've had to size
> bearing holes that were loose to the point of making noise. I find them
> tedious to work with, and I'm sorry S&S uses them at all.
>
> Am I just inept at this levelling procedure or has anyone else
> experienced my problem?
>
> Bob Anderson
> Tucson, AZ
>