Ratio question

[Dan Reed]

Phil,

Were you interested in finding a quick and inexpensive way to increase 
the key dip on this piano? I assumed that.

I am a big fan of shimming the balance rail to get key dip roughed 
in..it takes about 20 to 30 minuets....

Many mid-70's Baldwins came with shallow dip...Baldwins have a 'built 
in' balance rail adjustment system, that makes raising the rail quick. 
There are about four sections of the balance rail that have a flat head 
screw, under the balance rail...this screw is accessable turu a 
pre-drilled hole, drilled thru the balance rail

Beside this hole in the balance rail, is (usually)  a screw to loosen 
and then tighten down the rail, after changes have been made.

One can usually shim any balance rail (verticlal) piano, if you can 
leverage the rail up, to add a shim.

Down side...Sharps and Naturals are affected differently by shimming.

  Also,  In extreme cases, you may need to reduce the back-checking 
distance ( a tendency to block the hammer with the increased dip).

If I have a piano owner on a tight budget, this is an exellent  way.  I 
do this job about 6 times a year, usually as a part of a normal service 
call.

Best to you,

Dan

  "We all agree that your theory is crazy, but is it crazy enough?" - 
Niels Bohr.   He was the one who proposed the first spherical model of 
the atom with electrons in orbit.


On May 12, 2008, at 7:59 PM, Fenton Murray wrote:

> Hey Curious,
> Kimball Grand, plays like a truck. UMMMM, hammers to heavy, to much 
> lead in keys, to much friction through out the action, check action 
> geometry. It will play like a Mazarati. It will still sound like a 
> truck, but giving the pianist something that plays well will be a huge 
> improvement.
> Fenton
> ----- Original Message ----- From: "Dan Reed" <pianoarts at tx.rr.com>
> To: "Pianotech List" <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Sent: Monday, May 12, 2008 7:50 AM
> Subject: Re: Ratio question
>
>
>> Tight budget...did you consider shimming the balance rail for a quick 
>> and dirty key dip increase?
>>
>> Dan
>> On May 12, 2008, at 4:03 AM, Phil Bondi wrote:
>>
>>> I thank you for all the replies.
>>>
>>> Jon..you know I love the KISS method..
>>>
>>> The reason for my query is because I recently ran into a Kimball 
>>> Grand that suffered from the following:
>>>
>>> Shallow dip
>>> no let-off
>>> plays like a Mack Truck because of it.
>>>
>>> There's room to raise the key height..yes I checked the sharps..and 
>>> possibly make this a more enjoyable instrument.
>>>
>>> It's in a church that 'supposedly' doesn't have a budget to do it 
>>> right. I use the word 'supposedly' because it seems most, if not all 
>>> of the churches I run into down here all claim poverty..I just don't 
>>> see it myself.
>>>
>>> My estimate for the job is to 'do it right' - full reg. with hammer 
>>> re-shaping.
>>>
>>> I thought I'd ask anyway,
>>>
>>> -Curious Rook
>>>
>>
>>
>