[pianotech] No jack position adjustment on older Steinway A.

[John Delacour]

At 18:38 -0800 12/11/2010, Ryan Sowers wrote:

>I consulted with a client today about his early 1900's Steinway A. 
>The client has been unhappy with the heavy touch, so one of the 
>things I checked was jack postion. I then discovered that there was 
>no adjustment for the jack position! This is the first time I've 
>seen this.
>
>I'm thinking maybe the easiest way to adjust it is to put a paper 
>shim on the back of the jack. Any other ideas? How unusual is this?

Not unusual at all on many makes before 1900.

I always put in new felt and backing.  There is always a card (or 
thin bushing cloth) backing to the felt blocks to stabulize them.  If 
you have felt of the exact thickness required then good.  Otherwise 
tear some damper felt to the exact thickness, cut strips of the 
required width (9-10 mm?), glue the strips to the backing just as 
they are in the original, chop the strip into chunks and glue them 
in.  It's a bit fiddly if you're not doing it every week, but it's 
just another simple job that has to be done.  The piano tells you how 
to do it. You don't really need to ask anyone.

JD