Let-off in piano

[David Love]

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With the key. =20
=20
David Love
davidlovepianos@comcast.net=20
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of jason kanter
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 11:36 AM
To: Pianotech
Subject: RE: Let-off in piano
=20
"Push the hammers up until they block". How? With the key?
-Jason
-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]On
Behalf Of David Love
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 11:19 AM
To: 'Pianotech'
Subject: RE: Let-off in piano
Get some magnetic sign material and cut it into 1=94 wide strips by =
12=94
long or so.  Two strips stacked on top of each other equals about =
1/16=94
depending on the material.  Attach it to the underside of the strings
right above the hammer line.  Push the hammers up until the block and
adjust the let off buttons until you can just feel the jack brushing the
knuckle.  By feel you can adjust the top treble slightly closer than the
low tenor.  Pull the action out slightly and adjust the bass visually as
the material doesn=92t stick that well to the bass strings. =20
=20
David Love
=20
From: jason kanter <mailto:jkanter@rollingball.com> =20
To: Pianotech <mailto:pianotech@ptg.org> =20
Sent: Tuesday, February 01, 2005 10:00 AM
Subject: Let-off in piano
=20
Just reading David Nereson's post about the old Bl=FCthner he takes care
of. He comments: "Can't regulate let-off in the piano -- no way to get
at the regulating screws."
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Which brings up an important point for me. How DO you regulate hammer
height and letoff in the grand piano? The method I learned is: Pull the
action, measure string height at the extremes of each section using a
string height gauge and a busines card; put the action on a nice, firm,
flat surface (I know that this is the place where errors creep in, if
the keybed and the work surface are not both quite flat); use a
contraption to simulate string height; and regulate hammer height,
letoff, checking, drop, etc outside the piano.
=20
In some situations I have had to do an on-site regulation where there is
no good, flat surface for the action, so I've tried to do it in the
piano. I can't see how you can do a good job with it. Feeding a hammer
blow gauge through the dampers, turning it 90 degrees and pulling it
gently up to contact the undersurface of the string, and holding it
there while trying to get an eyeball on the hammer surface from the
front of the piano and using the other hand to regulate the capstan ...
difficult enough to do samples but what a challenge to do them all that
way. Very hard to get a good line of sight over the hammer flange under
the pinblock. So I have resorted to approximating, measuring only a few,
pulling the action into my lap and eyeballing the tweeners. I *know* the
results are not as good as what I could do on a good bench.
=20
Same issue for letoff, and same for backcheck. No doubt you more
experienced folks have developed fast, efficient, easy ways to do this.
Please enlighten.
=20
Does Bill Spurlock's description sound like what any of you do?
"hunching over the stretcher, peering past the dampers and through the
strings to judge let-off distance, then looking under the pinblock to
place the tool on the adjusting screw, then leaning forward again to
watch as you make the adjustment. All the while you must "squeeze" the
key gradually to slow hammer movement enough that you can accurately see
the let-off point."
=20
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|   | | |   | | =20
Jason Kanter . piano tuning regulation repair
 <mailto:jkanter@rollingball.com> jkanter@rollingball.com . cell 425 830
1561
serving the eastside and the san juans

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