[pianotech] wippen felt advice

[Tom Sivak]

Again, lifting the wippen with the finger reveals no resistance or unusual friction.  Seems isolated to the wippen pad in contact with the capstan.  Many keys in octaves 6/7 (having no dampers) have just as much resistance when played by the key as do the ones that do have dampers---and the resistance vanishes when lifting the wippen.

--- On Fri, 6/26/09, PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com <PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com> wrote:

From: PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com <PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com>
Subject: Re: [pianotech] wippen felt advice
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Date: Friday, June 26, 2009, 2:10 AM



 
 


Check damper spring tension.
 
P
 

In a message dated 6/25/2009 6:34:08 P.M. Central Daylight Time,
tvaktvak at sbcglobal.net writes:

  
    
    
      List
        

        The piano is a Steinway upright from the 1870s. It came to me,
        refinished, almost completely rebuilt, and nearly unplayable.
         There is a lot of friction, especially on some keys.  I
        suspected verdigris, but the action centers were not the problem.
         (It is verdigris free, and everything moves freely.)
        

        The problem seems to be the wippen pads.  The hammer moves
        with no appreciable resistance when I lift the wippen with my finger.
         Push the key down and I have to use undue pressure.   The
        keys themselves need new bushings, move too freely, and are not the
        problem, either.
        

        The capstans are smooth and when I run my finger over the top there
        is no stickiness, roughness, or anything would increase friction.
         (They are the big wooden dowel capstans.)
        

        The wippen felt pads, though, are heavily dented, even though they
        were replaced in the rebuild.  They are a white felt, they look to
        be an appropriate thickness, but my theory is that the felt was too soft
        and thus the dents are, at least, a part of the problem. 
        

        I want to make sure I don't replace these with a felt that is also
        too soft.  How can one measure and compare the softness of felts?
         
        

        Or is there a specific brand/weight/etc. that you have used with
        success?
        

        Thanks in advance for any advice you all might have,
        

        Tom Sivak
        Chicago
        

        

        

        

        

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