At 19:49 -0400 26/09/2010, Michael Staples wrote: >List members: I would appreciate it if you would share your choice >of tools and techniques for efficient Grand damper wire bending. Though I have both types of plier illustrated on page 67 of Schaff's catalogue, I don't use either of them for damper wires, but instead a very light old-fashioned bending tool. This serves also to do any bending that may be required right at the top of the wire to centralize the damper head on the strings, for which the plier tools are no use. The first thing to get right is the offset of the wire at the head and the left-to-right angle of the top section of the wire, which must be at 90° both to the line of the damper heads and to the line of the damper guide. If the angle is right but the damper head is not sitting centrally on the unison then the offset of the wire from the head must be changed. To do this I grip the head and the inset wire in a pair of duck-billed pliers while bending the topmost angle of the wire in or out and then adjusting the angle of the bend above the guide. Next hang the damper through the guide so that the bottom of the wire hangs in front of the damper drop, and hold the head so that it is perfectly flat on the strings. It is convenient to make a tool to hold the damper in this position. The bottom of the wire must be perfectly in line with the centre of the damper drop (the bit that holds the set-screw), which means it must also be perfectly vertical and parallel with the part that goes through the guide. This condition is achieved by changing the angle of the two opposing bends below the guide. If the guides are worn and need replacing, it is not a bad idea, and probably saves quite a bit of time, to do all the bending work using the worn bushings. There must be no pressure on the sides of the bushing and, if the bending has been properly done, when the wire is clamped by the screw in the drop, the damper wire will 'float' in the guide. It is easier to get things just right if the guides are worn enough to allow this floating. The dampers and guides can then be removed and the guides rebushed before the main regulation commences. And above all remember the dictum of one old foreman at the Steinway shop in London : "Nobody likes dampers!" JD -- ______________________________________________________________________ Delacour Pianos * Silo * Deverel Farm * Milborne St. Andrew Dorset DT11 0HX * England Phone: +44 1202 731 031 Mobile: +44 7801 310 689 ______________________________________________________________________
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC