[CAUT] steinway upright regluation problem

Norman Cantrell normancantrell at sbcglobal.net
Sat Sep 25 12:15:12 MDT 2010


Jeremy

I have experienced the same thing on this vintage of piano.  Upon closer 
examination I noticed a lot of key weights in the front of the keys and very 
little in the rear.  I was out of my usual service area and did not have my 
touchweight tools with me but the touch seemed very light when playing.  I am 
guessing you have a touchweight issue that has been exacerbated by action wear.

Regards

Norman Cantrell, Registered Piano Technician




________________________________
From: J H <jlhservice at gmail.com>
To: caut at ptg.org
Sent: Sat, September 25, 2010 9:40:15 AM
Subject: [CAUT] steinway upright regluation problem


Hi all - I recently tuned a small S&S console from the 40's (the little short 
ones, somewhat decorative case).  The hammers/keys returned to rest very very 
slowly when the damper pedal was being used, and it was noticeable even without 
the pedal engaged.  Other than newer hammers, it's all original.  The hammers 
seemed a little oversized for the piano.  So, I have checked everything: hammer 
flange center pins and return springs, wippen flange centerpin, jack centerpin 
and springs, capstans for buildup/residue, keybushings, key balance hole, 
dampers, everything.  No problems with sluggishness anywhere.  Each part of the 
action, the hammer, wippen, and keystick operates fine independently.  The 
hammer/wippen actions operate just fine when you remove the key and push up on 
the capstan pad.  The only problem is when you introduce the key.  It really 
seems like things are binding up at the capstan pads.  So, could wear and tear 
cause the cap/pads to bunch up and throw off the regulation geometry?  The 
cap/pads are pretty worn and "dimpled".  Could the larger replacement hammers 
change the way an upright hammer returns to rest?  Did I miss something?  The 
customer probably won't even notice this but it's bothering me that I couldn't 
figure it out.

Thanks!
Jeremy
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