<html> <body> I thought I'd seen every possible configuration of a vertical piano over the past three decades, but I saw one recently that was new to me. This is an Estey made in 1891. I'm attaching a sketch I made but here's how this is supposed to work. The backcheck is in two parts, and pivots by a center pin towards the top. There is a coil spring towards the bottom. The idea is that upon release of the hammer from check the backcheck will give a little push on the catcher, just enough to help the jack get back against the butt felt. There's a set screw at the very top of the backcheck which limits the travel of the piece that pushes the catcher. The piano was in such poor condition that there was no way I could see if this theory actually worked in practice, though I don't see why it wouldn't. <img src="cid:7.0.0.16.2.20060221130054.025c3780@comcast.net.0" width=628 height=627 alt="[]"> Aaron <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> ------------------------------------------ Aaron Bousel Registered Piano Technician, Piano Technicians Guild abousel@comcast.net (413) 253-3846 (voice & fax)</body> </html>