Squeaky Pedal

[Thomas Cole]

Ron Shiflet's query about squeaky Langer's reminds me of a couple of
nasty pedal noise complaints that I've solved recently, one of which
took years to solve. (You should have seen the bill! ;-)

Today, I tuned a Yamaha DC6-F grand that would "squich" with every
operation of the pedal. The previous DC6-F that I serviced did the same
thing and after I had done some sleuthing, plus interrogating all the
usual suspects, I did not manage to crack the case. Disassembly of the
pedal parts made the problem go away, but some days after reassembly,
the squeek would maddeningly return.

So, this time, I decided to think outside the (pedal) box and
immediately found that the lyre strut on the sustain pedal side squoke
inside of the pedal box hole when I pushed against the box itself. I'm
thinking that the polyester finish inside of the hole is the likely
source of the noise. A little grease made it silent for now. Anyone know
of a better fix?

Another noisy pedal that kept coming back like the Terminator was in an
1881 Steinway upright. I kept thinking that it must be in a pivot point
or where a leaf spring was rubbing, or maybe the bottom board was
rubbing against where the plate comes through. Every visit I prescribed
a different, yet more powerful medicine gleaned from the piano tech's
PDR. But I was not able to catch the culprit in the act and would resort
to cleaning and/or lubing everything that might remotely be in need of
attention in the hope that that would bring about a sustaining peace. 

But every time I returned to service the piano, it was
Tune-And-Fix-The-Pedal-Squeak time... AGAIN <sigh>. All my ingenuity was
for naught, I was to find out in the end, as I had not done a proper diagnosis.

I finally wised up on the last go round and, before disassembling
anything, I laid down on the floor and operated the pedal by hand while
making careful observations. I saw that pushing down on the pedal would
flex the toe rail which would allow the knee panel to move downward,
causing it to squeek against the opening in the case.

After having "solved" the problem four times before, I could at long
last devise a lasting cure.

Tom Cole