jack not returning on high treble

Carlos Ralon ceralon at comcast.net
Wed Jan 24 06:57:40 MST 2007


I have had the same problem. The solution was your tip about the key dip. The drop action with wood stickers have a short wire at the top where the capstan is connected. This short wire or the fork at the end of the key get bent. Who knows how? Little fingers between the lower panel or whatever. Try checking the short wire or the fork for bends,... straighten them, this gives the proper keydip.  Adjust the capstans and that should do it.  It did mine!
Carlos Ralon, RPT
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Michelle Smith 
  To: 'Pianotech List' 
  Sent: Wednesday, January 24, 2007 1:51 AM
  Subject: RE: jack not returning on high treble


  Hi David and all who have made suggestions.  Yes, I flicked those jacks to make sure the spring was still strong enough.  To be very specific, here are the tests I did and they come from the PTG Technical Source Book.  Fern Henry's article, Diagnosing Repetition Problems in Vertical Pianos. 

   

    1.. I checked for slow hammer return by moving the hammer rest rail forward and back.  (No slow hammers.) 
    2.. I checked for lost motion by pulling on the hammer rest rail.  (There was some lost motion.) 
    3.. I checked the wippen centers by holding the keys down at the back and lifting each wippen with the other hand.  (Every wippen was fine.) 
    4.. I checked each jack by depressing the soft pedal and tripping each jack.  (They were happily snappy.) 
    5.. I checked the keys by raising the wippens below the key bed (remember it's a drop action) and tapping the rear of each key.  (Key travel was fine.  No friction at balance rail or front rail.  They were actually very loose.) 
   

  The reason this is throwing me for a big loop is because the action parts "seem to be fine" and the keys "seem to be fine".  Something isn't right.  To add to the weirdness, it is only the notes without dampers!

   

  In this same thread Paul suggested the following:

   

  "Try reducing the hammer blow by shimming the hammer rail with punchings and see what happens. If it has any effect, then make it a permanent repair on the hammer rail, and accept the blow distance as the necessary compromise for the time being."

   

  I tried that and the jack still tripped out and wouldn't return. 

   

  The only way I could get the notes to repeat was to adjust the let off so that the note was practically blocking against the string.  By doing this, the jack wasn't actually coming out from under the hammer butt and the feeling when playing the notes was totally wrong.  So adjusted them back to their original non-functioning position, and called it a day!  =) 

   

  The more I'm typing, the more I think it has to be the key dip problem.  I think I better go sleep on this one.  

   

  Keep those suggestions coming!

   

  Michelle Smith

   

   

   

   


------------------------------------------------------------------------------

  From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Ilvedson
  Sent: Tuesday, January 23, 2007 11:15 PM
  To: pianotech at ptg.org
  Subject: RE: jack not returning on high treble

   

   The dampers help return action parts to rest...not their design necessarily...you will need to get the dip the same and probably need a slight bit of lost motion...adjust and cycle action slowly to see that jack returns.   Of course you have flicked jacks to make sure the jack spring is strong enough or jack center isn't tight

  David Ilvedson, RPT
  Pacifica, CA 94044
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