Thanks,
Probably Thursday as the schedule is rather full.
Andrew
On Feb 27, 2010, at 7:08 PM, Chris Solliday wrote:
> we certainly nedd to know at least the following:
> String Heights sampled
> Current hammer bore
> Any obvious wear on the those hammers?
> length of tails
> hammer shank center pin height
> wippen center pin height
> clearance above drop screws at the pinblock
> blow distance
> key dip
> let-off distance
> key height
> damper lift timing
> Is this all factory work or has there been some custom rebuilding?
> capstan height above key
> check the line of center from the bottom of the balance pin hole to
> the wippen center pin. Do the wippen cushion profile and the
> capstan pass through the line at one half key dip? Where does it
> pass through in relation to that line?
>
> You just might be right and shimming the back feet first (I'd try
> 3/16, and perhaps a little (less than 1/8 under the shank centerpin
> feet will solve your problems. IT's easily enough mocked up. and
> regulate a few. yes if you do this, the ultimate arbiter will
> probably be your capstan height. Should be 1/2 inch. check it first
> and hope that it is low which it could be at 2" blow distance. Also
> the fact that these hammers are over centering so much sounds good
> for raising the stack but we need to know the string height the bore
> distance and the shank center pin height. Have fun.
> Chris Solliday, rpt
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: Andrew Anderson
> To: caut at ptg.org
> Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 5:32 PM
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the
> strings
>
> Mr. Solliday,
> I was caught by the proff. in the parking lot after tuning for the
> Chopin bicentennial concert. I'll have to dig through my notes for
> what I found last time I investigated this. When I had the blow
> distance at 1&7/8 I could have a nominal .390 dip with minimal
> aftertouch ( jack fully clearing the knuckle with small visible gap:
> I don't like too much but too little is another problem on hard
> blows). Problem was the shanks were way off of the cushions and
> there was lots of bouncing going on interfering with repetition and
> touch. I couldn't get a consistent drop across the compass because
> the drop screws were already backed out (1/4" drop in some cases),
> one was broken and a number twisted so the screw driver was loose.
> After talking to a Steinway tech in parts I got a box of shims sent
> out. I suggested to the school that maybe this was a Steinway
> warranty issue to be pursued with the dealer. The dealer sent an
> irascible tech. who went for lots of blow distance and a lot of
> aftertouch. This has turned out to be unsatisfying to the faculty
> and they are now asking me to address the problem.
>
> I'll try to get back in next week and sample a number of different
> parts of the scale. Seems to me that there was a specific note that
> is measured and that it was 1/4" high last time I checked.
>
> I'm guessing that besides re-regulating I will probably have to warm
> over the checking when done because of a potential change in angle.
> Presently the hammers are all over-centering somewhere between 1/8
> and 3/16". They've had some minimal shaping (polishing to try to
> get some power). Not enough, I think, to significantly change the
> centering issue.
>
> Possibly backing the capstans out that much may loosen them and
> require a little water thin CA glue to tighten. I'm also wondering
> how much that will affect the capstan heel interface.
>
> I recall wondering about shimming the action rails (room under
> fallboard but less then is available under the pin-block). I'd have
> to revisit the damper underlever timing. The shift pedal slide
> guides would need to be adjusted on the cheek blocks too. There
> should still be plenty of bite for the shift lever but I could shim
> that too. I recall thinking I could gain 1/8" under the fallboard.
> I guess it would be easy to temp a shim under the rails and see what
> the real, full-impact would be for doing so. Educational if nothing
> else.
>
> I'll get back with hard numbers late next week.
>
> Andrew Anderson
>
> On Feb 26, 2010, at 2:26 PM, Chris Solliday wrote:
>
>> And Jim is probably right in this case, as over 2 inches blow
>> distance is alot. Not to mention that you say the drop screws are
>> fully backed out. You may need different dimensioned parts. I guess
>> the point is that we in cyberspace need alot more information from
>> you before we can get specific.
>> Chris Solliday
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: James N. Hess
>> To: caut at ptg.org
>> Cc: caut at ptg.org
>> Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 3:10 PM
>> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the
>> strings
>>
>> Often you are very limited on the amount you can raise the stack
>> because of interference with the pinblock. My experience has been
>> that you may be able to add 1/16". I think reboring the hammers is
>> a better solution.
>>
>> Jim Hess, RPT
>>
>> On Fri, 26 Feb 2010 14:58:36 -0500 "Chris Solliday" <csolliday at rcn.com
>> > writes:
>> String Height minus Hammer Bore equals Shank Center Pin Height. We
>> use laminated shim stock that we get from the local hobby store.
>> Realize that just raising the pin height MIGHT work, but consider
>> the arc of the hammer blow. You could end up with the hammer over
>> centering if you simply raise the feet under the hammer flange
>> pins. You need to imagine the pin in space and rotate the stack
>> around it so that the stike point ends up at ninety degrees to the
>> string. It might not be that now. Usually this means shimming the
>> front foot slightly as well. Best of luck Andrew.
>> Chris Solliday, RPT
>>
>> ----- Original Message -----
>> From: Andrew Anderson
>> To: caut at ptg.org
>> Sent: Friday, February 26, 2010 12:45 PM
>> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the
>> strings
>>
>> Yes, mea culpa. Wasn't really thinking the numbers...most likely 2"+
>>
>> On Feb 26, 2010, at 11:30 AM, reggaepass at aol.com wrote:
>>
>>>
>>> The school whose Steinways I service is not satisfied with the
>>> dealer's warranty fix (greater then 1" blow distance).
>>> Andrew,
>>>
>>> Not sure what you mean by this ("greater then 1" blow distance").
>>> Did you mean greater than 2" (since it sounds like the strings are
>>> too high)?
>>>
>>> Alan Eder
>>>
>>>
>>>
>>> -----Original Message-----
>>> From: Andrew Anderson <andrew at andersonmusic.com>
>>> To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
>>> Sent: Fri, Feb 26, 2010 9:13 am
>>> Subject: [CAUT] Shimming the Steinway Action stack to reach the
>>> strings
>>>
>>> The school whose Steinways I service is not satisfied with the
>>> dealer's warranty fix (greater then 1" blow distance). They are
>>> requesting that the piano be made to play like it should which
>>> will require shimming the stack so it is within reach of the
>>> strings (>1/4" between fully backed out drop-screws and pinblock).
>>>
>>> Has anyone done this? What was the scope of work required? What is
>>> a reasonable amount of time to complete the work?
>>>
>>> Thanks
>>> Andrew Anderson
>>
>>
>>
>> James Hess, RPT
>> 200 W. Allen St.
>> Mechanicsburg, PA 17055
>> 717/580-1445 (cell)
>> www.hesspiano.com
>>
>>
>> ____________________________________________________________
>> Love Spell
>> Click here to light up your life with a love spell!
>
>
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