[CAUT] lighter touchweight

[Richard Brekne]

Hi

I would like to echo Alan McCoys post.  If you know Stanwood protocols 
then do a few samples so we can get a better idea of the actions actual 
working ratio. Otherwise, aside of doing a perfect regulation and 
checking for and eliminating all sources of  frictions that are hidden 
from a static up and down weight measurement.  A classic one of these 
are sticky key bushings/pins that have lots of side play.  Polish 
keypins, and teflon the bushings if they are hanging up on sideplay.

A very quick way of increasing leverage, and very reversable as well.. 
is to take a strips of flange paper.. say 0.2 mm thick, and insert them 
under balance rail punchings along the back edge of the balance rail 
pins.  This increases the leverage significantly and will effectively 
reduce the ratio a fair amount. 

Your downweight of 50s and upweights just under 30 indicates a roughly 
40-42 gram balance weight at most I would suspect.... not exactly heavy 
really.  But then BW tells only a small part of the touchweight story of 
a given action

Cheers
RicB



    Hi List,

    I have a customer who wants his 1975 Baldwin 6'8" grand to feel
    lighter. It was virtually unused for many years and recently had an
    action reconditioning and regulation. It weighed off pretty
    reasonable. Downweight averaged low 50's to 50 and upweight averaged
    upper 20's to 30. Friction seemed low if anything. There isn't a lot
    of lead in the keys, as much as four weights in some of the lower
    bass. The hammers have enough "extra" material in the cove to remove
    some in an arc shape.  I'm wondering if doing only that would result
    in enough weight loss to make much difference. Has anyone done this
    procedure not in conjunction with leading, etc. and received good
    results?

    Sorry if you already received this. I tried to send this message
    yesterday from a different source computer and don't know if it went
    out. :)

    Thanks,
    -- 
    Jeff Farris
    Piano Technician
    School of Music
    UT Austin
    mailto; jfarris at mail.utexas.edu
    512-471-0158