In a message dated 3/16/00 6:37:24 PM Central Standard Time, plumb@execulink.com (Paul Plumb) writes: << Dear List, Someone please tell me how you remove the uh "felt?", "cork", "hard covering", that is on the backchecks and butts in a Baldwin Hamilton. They are producing a lot of extraneous noise as well as wearing the catcher felt badly. >> Certainly, do read the material that has been written about this. It is very likely that you will encounter many more pianos with the same problem. If you can get the remedy down to a science, you can charge a nice fee for really perking up a sick sounding piano. By all means, remove the dampers and spring rail as other have suggested. Yes, they are tedious to reinstall but there are only about 70 of them and difficult as they are, they are easier than the hammers. Attention should also be paid to their alignment when reinstalled. However, even if a damper flange is found to be misaligned after the action is back in, it can be corrected from the front without removing the action. You can reach through the hammers with a long screwdriver blade, loosen the flange screw just slightly, with the same blade, pry against the flange to realign it, then tighten the screw firmly. Hot Animal Hide Glue, if you are set up for it and have experience is best and will work fine but if not, I would like to suggest the latest in adhesives: our own Susan Kline RPT's truly marvelous discovery that white or yellow (Carpenter's or Aliphatic Resin) glue work well in combination with Cyanoacrylate (CA) [also known as "Super"] Glue. Apply a thick viscosity type CA glue sparingly but evenly to the wooden surface. Then apply a very thin but even coat of white or yellow glue to the new covering material. Press the new material onto the wooden surface and hold for a few seconds. It will take a set quickly but will take more time to cure. It is very important not to get any CA glue on the butt felt. If this happens, it will harden it and there will be a resultant "click" that will be just as bad or worse than what has already been happening. I used to remove and replace the butt felt too because I could not prevent this from happening. For the butt covering, get a bead of white or yellow glue into the slot, then put a bead of CA glue on the covering. The water based glue will cause the CA glue to cure quickly as you insert the covering into the slot. Use the procedure described beforehand to fasten the other and of the covering. This is also an excellent opportunity to file the hammers and correct the alignment. You can do a good job of correcting the spacing even with the action out of the piano. Just go by the irregular spacing you see and the grooves on the hammers. A hammer which appers correctly spaced but has grooves to one side needs travelling. You will be able to spot the sideways motion by moving a group of hammers together. Get things evened out, then file the hammers. With the action in a cradle or simply by turning it upside down, you can check for loose or tight pinning. Correct these as needed. Same with the wippens. Be sure to tighten all flange screw firmly before reinstalling the action. Once reinstalled, you will probably need to do some capstan adjustment. You may well find hammers standing above the rail. Adjust capstans appropriately then check key level with a short straight edge to pick out any low or high keys. Correct those. Now check and adjust the let off. You may well need to do some correction. Aim for 1/8" from the string. Now see what kind of aftertouch you have. If your dip is shallow or deep, there are adjustment screws in the balance rail under certain sharps. You will want to see the jack just clearing the butt by about a millimeter. Your backchecking should fall into place but if not, correct it. Any back checks that do not want to line up will signal you that you need to correct the keydip individually for that note. Following the procedure this way will avoid wasted efforts. Notice I did not say to "set the blow distance first" the way most manuals say to do. Notice that I did not say anything about the blow distance. Correct it only if you must have too deep of key dip in order to have adequate aftertouch. Your dampers should also fall right into the correct lift if you do not try to change or change very little your blow distance. Adjusting a full set of spoons is the last thing you would want to do and should not be necessary. The action will feel like a brand new piano to you and the customer after going through this routine. It is worth at least what a full day of tunings are worth, if not more. Good luck, Bill Bremmer RPT Madison, Wisconsin
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