Grand damper felt alignment

[Keith Roberts]

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Thanks Bob, it didn't come out as pretty as I wanted. I might have done =
it your way this time and come out better. A little more time on the =
preparation could help. All in all, I didn't hurt myself and have to =
remove any felts. The odd thing about this tray was all the lifters were =
tilted to the right. I don't know if they were traveled or built that =
way. They had a bend in the wire that used to be at the top of the =
lifter. Now with either thicker key end felt or thinner damper felt that =
bend had to be straightened for the wire to slide in farther. What a =
challenge regulating these are.=20
The hard part is knowing whether you are fixing a previous screw-up or =
altering a compromise that was made. If you're altering a compromise =
it's nice to have a plan when you come up against the reason the =
compromise was made in the first place.  It's tough when you are a picky =
perfectionist with just enough knowledge.=20
Keith Roberts

----- Original Message -----=20
  From: BobDavis88@aol.com=20
  To: pianotech@ptg.org=20
  Sent: Tuesday, March 25, 2003 6:28 PM
  Subject: Re: Grand damper felt alignment


  Keith (his message quoted below),

  No flame suit reinforcement needed as far as I'm concerned! I mostly =
agree with you. I think you are making a reasoned response to the =
vagaries of individual damper sets and I was speaking in general. There =
are also a couple of items of individual taste.=20

  I suppose if the original guide rail is going back in exactly the same =
spot after removal for bushing, the plate winds up in exactly the same =
spot after removal for finishing, and the original dampers were =
beautifully spaced, aligned, and traveled, I might also be tempted by =
the method you describe. However, this combination of events is rare =
enough that it doesn't come up too often for me, so I'd rather just =
start from scratch with felts aligned to the heads, and adjust the side =
pressure, travel, and timing after felting. In addition, many damper =
felts are as wide as the damper blocks, which doesn't permit too much =
offset without peeking out one side or another.=20

  I am not sorry to say that I agree with you about cosmetics. The piano =
is to me a truly beautiful object, and anything which pleases the eye in =
addition to the ear adds to the aesthetic experience. When I step on the =
pedal, I want the dampers to lift straight out of the strings as one, =
without any lateral movement of the damper blocks toward or away from =
each other. I don't know if a little traveling would be discernible in =
the function of the dampers, but it might, and it is prettier without. =
Where the agraffe spacing is uneven, some kind of compromise must be =
made. Whether the heads are spaced evenly and the felts offset, or the =
heads spaced directly over the strings, may depend upon the degree of =
unevenness and individual taste. I guess I'm saying that in most cases, =
the agraffe spacing isn't enough to bother me, if the traveling and =
timing are really really good.=20

  Bob Davis


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