[pianotech] Ludwig Feigel Piano/Viennese Action Information Request

[John Delacour]

At 22:50 -0800 12/03/2011, Patrick C. Poulson wrote:

>I have taken on the project of bringing a 1910 Ludwig Feigel 
>6' grand back to playing condition. It is actually in very good 
>condition considering it's age, tuneable with a good soundboard and 
>pinblock. It has what I believe is a Viennese action, with leather 
>covered hammers. I have no idea as to how this would be regulated, 
>or how to voice the hammers. The soft leather gives the piano a very 
>dull tone, so I hope to be able to brighten them up. I don't know if 
>the leather covering is original or not. I will start by easing the 
>keys, which are all tight on their balance pins. Where to go from 
>there?

The only Viennese action I've has to deal with was in a Bšsendorfer 
of about 1900 and that was many years ago, but I put a lot of time 
into trying to make it behave like a modern piano.

This piano had the original hammers and the original leather 
covering, which was a buckskin or chamois about 1mm thick.  The sound 
with these original hammers was certainly not dull, and when I have 
on a couple of occasions put a similar cover on other hammers it has 
had the effect only of improving the pianissimo, as you would 
normally do by top toning.  I concluded that while the leather 
covering may have some subtle effect of the overall tone, its main 
function was to reduce wear on checking and from the stroking motion 
the hammer makes with the string.  Without the leather the felt would 
quite quickly be abraded by the friction of the checks and the 
strings.

The escapement should be regulated, either with shims between the 
rail and the set-off jack or by adjusting the elkskin set-off pad on 
the hammer back lever so that the hammer sets off just as it hits the 
string and not before.  I believe some pianos had a screw adjustment 
for the set-off jack.

The key bushing is critical, since if there is any wobble at the key 
balance or at the front, this will translate into radial/lateral 
movement of the hammer-head which is centred in its clevis on the 
key.  The bushing must therefore be of thin calfskin and not of 
cloth, both the front bushings and the chase (Am. button).

I'm sure there are others who have more experience of these things, 
but I think what I have said may be helpful.  The Viennese action was 
designed for pianos with tiny hammers.  Unlike the English action it 
cannot successfully be brought into the modern era and I've never 
understood why the Austrians persisted with it so long.

JD