Bob Tate wrote: > Hi people, > > I've had to be away because of a bad back--still hurts like crazy. > _______________ > > I believe a major problem may have just happened with my Estonia 190. > > I've been working on getting the una corda pedal to be just as I want > it, or rather make certain the hammers hit the strings in just the right > place when it's depressed. (i.e., not how depressed I feel right now) > > Here's what happened: > > this morning, I made a minor change to a hammer flange position. I put > the action back in the piano. > > When I pressed the una corda and let it return, the alignment looked as > I wanted it, the damper barely missed the left string at full una > corda. The shift works properly. > > Next, I pushed down the damper pedal. > > All the dampers lifted as expected, however, when the pedal was > released, the entire set of dampers hung, just above their "at rest" > position. > > I checked the action to make certain it was properly seated on the key > bed and in the piano as far back as it could go. It is. > > I tried the damper pedal again. > > This time, on the damper return, I heard a "creeeek" or rather, > "creekcraaack." And the dampers still hung slightly above their at rest > position. > > Not liking that "crack" sound; with the damper pedal not depressed, I > lifted and let drop, each damper head, manually. > > All worked as expected, except E2 (the last damper before the end of the > bass bridge and before the bass/treble strut). > Lifting it, I felt a little, loose up/down and side to side, wobble. > Letting it drop, maked an audible "click," then, "thud" as it returned > to where it started. > The thud sounded like wood on wood. > > I pulled the action. Looked at and wiggled the damper flanges and wires, > checked for loose screws, and saw/felt nothing wrong. > > With the action still out, I checked the sostenuto, which as had the > dampers, been working perfectly. > > The sostenuto is a complete mess: dampers lift haphazardly or not at > all. (The tabs all look in-line.) > > Not having much grand damper repair experience, I returned the action > and have stopped. > > I've called for reinforcements. I'm afraid this may be a major problem: > a broken damper rail flange or even rail itself, broken damper return > spring? > > Any ideas of what I might be able to check, without taking apart the > damper mechanism (and probably making matters worse)? > --I know of nothing more I can do or will do, lest you have a suggestion. > > what we know is: > the dampers hang barely above the strings when "at rest," > the manual lifting of E2 (last damper before the bass strut) makes an > audible "click" and then, wood-on-wood "thud" when allowed to drop to > its rest position, > the sostenuto is a total mess, > the shift works okay. > > I won't touch it, unless it's something easy to check; but, I'd like to > have ideas as to what it might be. > > Thanks, > Bob T Loose screws on damper lift tray block?? -- Conrad Hoffsommer, RPT - Keyboard Technician Luther College, 700 College Dr., Decorah, Iowa 52101-1045 1-(563)-387-1204 // Fax 1-(563)-387-1076
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