Fred Sturm checks key friction the same way I do. The only difference is that I use some weights I made just for that purpose instead of the Jiffy leads. Fred covered several details that I didn't, but it seems that our methods are the same. And as for hammers rubbing their neighbors, and keys binding at the balance hole: Last year I did a warranty job that was the worst I ever saw. It was an otherwise beautiful 7-ft grand by a once high-quality US maker. The keys were well made. The only problem was that the balance holes in their hardwood shoes were so tight on the pins that the keys had to be carefully pried off. Had they been any tighter, they would have pulled the pins out. Here I go again with my home-made tools. I don't like most of the balance hole easing tools on the market, so I made my owm. It's the same general configuration designed to go down from the top to put just the right taper at the bottom of the hole, but I made this one out of tool steel, hardened it, and then put an adjustable brass stop flange on the shank to establish a precise depth, and get all holes just the same. Even so, those balance holes in those hardwood key shoes were so tight I had to heat that tool to make it do the job. As for the hammers: Aligning and traveling was out of the question. They were just much too fat on the edges. The original complaint was that the action was too heavy. The piano was definitely hard to play, but it was not heavy. There were no problems with weight or geometry. There were many peoblems with friction, and just as many more with regulation. Had those been properly done, the action would have been fine. Why that piano left the factory, or even got sold, in that condition is beyond me. Jim Ellis
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