[CAUT] Re: Steinway Damper sytem upgrade & redesign

[David Ilvedson]

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Fred, 
My apologies to Joe...;-]   
Yeah, but I can permanently fix the problem and certainly get=
 more friction relief than your method AND I can charge $150 for=
 the work...;-]   
The job usually takes less than an hour for me.   I charge $100=
 if I'm there tuning the piano.   I make up numerous pitmans of=
 slightly vairing length in the shop.   I can also shim with shoe=
 leather under the lever if necessary.  I use a Forstner bit and=
 it is a bit of a struggle to get it started.  The dowel in the=
 hole is a good idea and believe or not I haven't been using=
 it...I press the drill up and with a little chattering get it=
 started...yeah it makes a few marks near the hole.   Block of=
 wood on top for a clean hole.  I don't have to pull the=
 lyre...which on a Steinway is a little of a pain to re-install. =
  I drill right into the leather under the tray and in the=
 lever...3/4" forstner.   It gives me a clear idea of where the=
 dowel should go...graphited depression.  Then the leather comes=
 off.  I put a drop cloth down under the piano so the plush=
 carpet doesn't complain...not to mention graphite powder on the=
 carpet.  
I've got a kit to do the job and I don't even think about...as I=
 said before, I've never had a customer concern about drilling=
 the existing hole bigger.  Don't your customers worry about your=
 drilling a hole in the tray and lever?  Or don't you mention=
 that?...;-]
David I.



David "loves to eat sawdust" Ilvedson

   ----- Original message=
 ---------------------------------------->
From: Fred Sturm <fssturm@unm.edu>
To: "ilvey@sbcglobal.net, College and University Technicians"=
 <caut@ptg.org>
Received: Mon, 08 Nov 2004 13:24:36 -0700
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Re: Steinway Damper sytem upgrade & redesign

On 11/8/04 12:54 PM, "David Ilvedson" <ilvey@sbcglobal.net>=
 wrote:


Joe,

If you are not having any noise over the long term, hey sounds=
 good.   The whole idea is to eliminate the rubbing of the top=
 and bottom of the pitman against the tray and lever.  I still=
 visulize rubbing in your retro-fit.   The punching works similar=
 to the Baldwin setup and eliminates any rubbing.   I've never=
 had a customer mention any concern with the hole in the bottom=
 of the piano, but I think if they were to take a look under the=
 piano they might just see some other holes already there and the=
 piano seems to be OK...;-]   

I take it your removing the bushing cloth in the original hole?  =
 Never having any clearance problems?   I will admit drilling=
 under the piano is a pain with sawdust in the face...

David Ilvedson


Actually, it=92s Fred, not Joe <g>. Yes, I remove the bushing cloth=
 for more clearance. Sawdust on the face goes together with=
 sawdust on the dark green plush carpet, the noise of drilling=
 into the prized possession =96 people have these emotional=
 connections, and you have to respect them.. And there=92s a good=
 bit of extra work to the =93Scott Jones design retrofit=94: find a=
 way to center the larger bit (sometimes you can finesse a=
 Forstner, but for safety=92s sake you need to install a piece of=
 dowel in the hole as a centering devise, and drill it out along=
 with the extra keybed wood); remove leather and drill shallow=
 holes in trapwork underlever and bottom of tray. Lot=92s more=
 sawdust and time than bringing a prepared substitute pitman,=
 removing the bushing cloth, drilling a hole through the tray=
 leather into the  tray and similarly into the trap lever, and=
 installing the pitman. It can even be done without removing the=
 action. 10  - 15 minute job (plus a similar amount of shop time=
 cutting the rod and drilling and pinning it, including set up=
 and put away).
    I do prefer the Scott Jones design (I think he was the one=
 who came up with it when he was in R & D at S & S), so if I=92ve=
 got the piano apart for another reason I=92ll do that. But for=
 someone complaining of too heavy a pedal, or where pitman=
 rubbing is causing excess noise, and where time and effort are=
 at a premium, my method is fast, effective, and long-lasting.
    You do have to fudge the placement of the pinned pitman=
 toward front or back to avoid rubbing (I forget which =96 I=92d need=
 to be under a piano to visualize it, I=92m thinking back), but=
 there=92s plenty of room. There=92s no rubbing except for the pins=
 at the end of the pitman in the holes (which need to be a bit=
 oversized for the purpose). Hey, it=92s the same design Yamaha and=
 much of the rest of the world uses.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
http://music.unm.edu/about/staff_members/fred_s_sturm.php
"There is more to life than increasing its speed." Gandhi 


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