Ed: Thanks for the tip. I guess I'm fortunate that none of our Steinways is old enough to have this "production improvement". I guess it's ok as long as it's back in the action far enough that the customer can't see it. dave *********** REPLY SEPARATOR *********** On 3/9/2002 at 1:29 PM A440A@AOL.COM wrote: >> A new Steinway D. a knocking sound when >>the pedal is used in rapid repetition. This noise was the result of a >>factory defect, and I fixed it with a screwdriver and my cordless drill >with >>a #9 bit. > >Ok,, so maybe the puzzle interest is gone, but here was the problem. The >treble damper tray support block was moving with pedal action, and the >screw >would not tighten it anymore. > Steinway has changed the way the damper tray is mounted. Formerly, >the >tray anchor blocks were cut so that they fit snugly between the keybed and >the bottom of the shelf. With the block trapped between top and bottom >thusly, a single screw would hold it in place with no fear of twisting or >movement. > Today, these blocks are cut so that they don't come close to the >underside of the shelf, which means that the screw is the only thing >holding >it in place. In and of itself, this avoidance of closely fit parts allows >weakness in the system, since the tray pivot is located above the screw >and >the forces at work want to move the block away from the tray(creating >instability in the damper regulation). It may have looked like a way to >speed up the back-action assembly process but it is a step away from >functional durability and simple craftsmanship. That they must use heavy >paper shims on two sides of this block also indicates that somebody in the >action department is cutting undersize and shimming to fit. That isn't the >way it used to be! > What I found on this particualr D, and several others, is that the >anchoring screw is threaded through the block as well as into the case. >This >means that if you try to turn the screw to tighten the block, the block >doesn't tighten because the screw is trapped by its own threads. Screws >are >supposed to act like clamps, with the threads pulling the head and the >part >that it is bearing against, together. For this to happen, the hole in the >block must be drilled larger than the threads. ergo, a #9 bit. > Once that was remedied, I found that the pivot pin had already >enlarged >the block's hole enough to make noise. This is on a Steinway D that has >been >in use for three weeks! I plugged the hole with a 1/2" plug and redrilled >it. All is now quiet on this piano, but anybody that services new >Steinways >will want to look for this. >Regards, >Ed Foote RPT _____________________________ David M. Porritt dporritt@mail.smu.edu Meadows School of the Arts Southern Methodist University Dallas, TX 75275 _____________________________
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