[pianotech] sluggish (was no subject)

[Ron Nossaman]

Gerald Groot wrote:

> *The last time I actually placed any weights on any piano was over 30 
> years ago.  It may take time to figure it out.  Sometimes, we all need 
> to call in the troupes for assistance to figure out what is causing 
> these problems but, just because weighting 'appears' to solve the 
> problem, that does not mean, that is the problem.  *


And I think it's just the opposite. Just because lubricating 
the wip centers made it work doesn't mean that was the 
problem. The keys are too front heavy. If everything else is 
optimal and as friction free as possible, the action will more 
or less work anyway. It doesn't take much friction in a key 
bushing, wippen cushion or center, or whatever, to make these 
actions sluggish. Friction levels in these places in other 
better balanced actions aren't usually show stoppers, but 
these actions are right on the edge of functionality at best. 
I have, through the years, put leads on a few keys in 
Wurlitzers, when lubrication and easing didn't get it, and the 
customer wasn't interested in spending what it was likely to 
take to otherwise make it "work", but just wanted that one or 
two keys to be made to work as economically (cheaply) as 
possible.
Ron N