Sustain pedal plastic - final result!

[Susan Kline]

Bill Simon wrote:
>> ...I find it amazing that a real company, with real engineers, would
spend the
>> money to make dies for this high stress part to be made out of plastic. 
>> P.S. - Expect to see foam rubber hammers soon.
Tom Cole wrote: 
>I have serviced two pianos over the years that had no name on the
>outside but the hammer rest rail was labeled "Kawai". The undersides of
>many of the keys were visible above the keyslip and there was a
>corresponding surfeit of lost motion on these notes. My investigation
>revealed a back rail "cloth" that had the consistency and color of
>chocolate cake - apparently the rail was covered with a type of foam
>that had chemically changed form.

I've had to replace this crumbly stuff too, both for back rail cloth 
and for hammer rail cloth, though, oddly, not both on the same piano. 
Mine didn't say "Kawai", at least. Do you suppose it was a not-so-subtle
form of disinformation? <grin>

>Why the maker didn't stick with the tried and true God only knows, but
>nylon pedal props takes the cake.

Cake, huh? Not very tasty, though the right consistency. Do I hear any 
votes for peppermint sticks as hammer shanks? 

Susan