Grand regulating + Backcheck Question

[Farrell]

Hi Louis. Looks like you got some good responses so far. I am somewhat of a
beginner also, so I also tend to get these small American grand actions in
for a refurbish that haven't been touched in 80 years. I have a few comments
that have not been brought up for these actions.

1)  Refelt the keyframe. Remove all felt and punchings. New punchings, new
felt on front, center (use thin punchings), and back rail. It doesn't take
long, and boy, it sure makes the keys feel better.

2)  Key bushings. They almost gotta be shot - unless they have been replaced
in the last few decades. Fixing the sloppy keys will get a lot of bang for
the buck in getting an old action up and running (well, at least trotting
gracefully). Make sure the rail pins are not rusty or scratched - replace
any that are.

3)  As someone else suggested, make sure you will be setting a good key
height. Best way to do this is to experiment with a couple keys in the piano
to make sure you have clearance with the fallboard and keyslip, and that you
still get enough travel with the key (keeping in mind new punchings, etc.

4)  File those 1/4" deep groves out of hammers. I use the Dremel rig for
these real deep nasty groves. Once you get the feel for it, one or two quick
passes over those hammers that should be in the trash and you got yourself a
good looking, nicely shaped, old hammer that should be in the trash - but
what the heck, it'll go for a few more decades!

5)  I take the hammer and wippen rails off the action frame and swing the
wippens & hammers. Look for the tightest and loosest ones. Remove and check
friction in offending flanges. Fix what is needed. Keep doing this until you
get the worst ones in the right ballpark.

6)  With these nasty old actions I use a home-made wooden let-off rack AND
the Spurlock let-off rack and do my regulating on the bench. I highly
recommend the Spurlock thingee. I use it for let-off AND for setting drop.
With a good FLAT bench, you can come pretty close. And being that you are
starting from scratch (way out in left field), you need to get it in the
ballpark on the bench. And yes, the other posts are correct that you will
need to do some regulation in the piano - I find that sometimes you really
need to go through the whole thing again - key leveling, etc. (I suppose
because the keyframe/keybed are not real straight) - but sometimes there is
barely a thing to touch-up (keeping in mind here we are talking about a 1929
Wurly with presumably original parts - no concert regulation going on here -
we are usually looking for function).

Here is a question from me: I find that you can usually make an old action
work acceptably (anyone that buys an 80 year old original condition tiny
American grand AIN'T looking for hi performance). The one thing that I often
find difficult to make function acceptably is hammer checking. Obviously,
new backchecks and arcing the hammer tails would take care of that, but that
has always seemed to be beyond the scope of what this type of piano owner is
looking for. As long as the hammer is not double-striking the string, I
don't think they care whether the hammer checks or not. I do though. Does
anyone have any tricks/tip for getting hammers to check on these actions
without new back checks and arcing the hammer tails?

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "L. Verkoelen" <mrfixit@pineknot.com>
To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, February 24, 2001 12:01 PM
Subject: Grand regulating


> Hello list,
>
> My name is Louis Verkoelen. I am a new associate tech high in the resort
> communities of southern California and have been tuning part time for
> several years. I have been following the list for a couple of months now
and
> the more I read the more I realize I have yet to learn. I am hoping to
take
> my tests sometime next year and make this a full time business.
>
> I have a couple of questions I hope you can help me with. I am doing my
> first full regulation on a 1929 4'10" Wurlitzer grand. The lady picked it
up
> for a song and figured I could make it work right. It looks like it hasn't
> been regulated since new. Let off is over 1/2".
> Anyway, to my questions.
> 1.When leveling, are the clip on weights the best way to go or is their a
> better way.
> 2.I need a let-off rack. Is the Jaras 4 in 1 rack (shaff) any good or
should
> I stick to the traditional wood style.
> 3.The blocks that hold the key frame in place are missing. They were
> originally part of the cheek blocks. Does anybody sell a replacement
(havn't
> seen them in the Schaff or APSCO catalogs) or do I have to fabricate a
set.
> If I have to make, whats the best material to use.
>
> Thanks.
>
> Louis Verkoelen
> Big Bear City, CA
>
>