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<DIV><SPAN class=443194907-23102003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff =
size=2>Don
Mannino, hello,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=443194907-23102003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff =
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=443194907-23102003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff =
size=2>I
noticed that Kaway with their ABS flange tend to take too much play in =
the
pinning indeed. As I understand it, because when the bushing grows, the =
part
can't swell because of the material, and when getting dry after, some =
play is
installed.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=443194907-23102003><FONT face=Arial color=#0000ff =
size=2></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial><FONT size=2><FONT color=#0000ff><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003>I came to a few pianos where the birseye =
itself
have developped ovalisation with time (1978
models)</SPAN>.</FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2>S<SPAN
class=443194907-23102003>o, while I like a lot the grand jack, I am =
far from
convinced with the other parts, for instance noise and extra friction on =
RX...
grand whippen lever, kind of feeling the weight and texture of the =
damper lever
in RX series.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>&nbs=
p;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003>ABS does not give as tone, only thump. And I =
regret
this, because I appreciate your grands, after having installed in them =
firm
Yamaha front punchings (discard those cotton style punchings !) and =
regulate
them so the touch is more light, they tone very well generally (I mean =
for the
soundboard/strings/hammers
parts)</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>&nbs=
p;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003>By the way are the broaches you sell to be =
used without
a handle ?.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>&nbs=
p;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003>Best
Regards.</SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>&nbs=
p;</DIV>
<DIV><FONT><FONT><FONT face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT =
size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT><FON=
T><FONT><FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT><FON=
T><FONT><FONT
face=Arial><FONT color=#0000ff><FONT size=2><SPAN
class=443194907-23102003></SPAN></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT></FONT>&nbs=
p;</DIV>
<DIV> </DIV>
<P><FONT size=2>Isaac OLEG<BR><BR>Entretien et réparation de
pianos.<BR><BR>PianoTech<BR>17 rue de Choisy<BR>94400 VITRY sur
SEINE<BR>FRANCE<BR>tel : 033 01 47 18 06 98<BR>fax : 033 01 47 18 06 =
90<BR>cell:
06 60 42 58 77 </FONT></P>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT =
face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Message d'origine-----<BR><B>De :</B> =
caut-bounces@ptg.org
[mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org]<B>De la part de</B> Don
Mannino<BR><B>Envoyé :</B> mercredi 22 octobre 2003
19:20<BR><B>À :</B> College and University
Technicians<BR><B>Objet :</B> RE: Pinning and =
Tone<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080>Alan,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>I see what =
you're
getting at. I don't know of any simple answer to troubleshooting =
the
friction other than removing parts and testing for friction. You =
can do
general troubleshooting by swinging the action to find the loosest and =
tightest parts, and you can measure down and upweight to get general =
friction
levels, but removing parts and feeling the softness of the bushing and =
checking the friction with a spring gauge are really the definitive =
way to
know what's up.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>Here are =
some
pertinent thoughts, though I'm not sure I can give you any real =
helpful
procedures to follow:</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>- Too much =
friction
causes a dull tone with poor projection and sometimes poor =
sustain. It
affects the action performance as well, of course.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>- Too =
little friction
causes no problems in tone at all <U>in and of itself</U>. It is =
only
because we are using cloth bushings that low friction results in poor =
tone
because the hammer is not controlled in its motion well enough. =
Please
understand me here - if you have a very, very firm bushing that =
will pin
with low friction and still have excellent side control, the tone =
should be
fine. It is the limitation of using a soft bushing material that =
forces
us to pin with sufficient friction to get the control we need. =
It is not
the friction itself which gives good tone - it is the firmness of the
bushing.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>- Teflon =
bushings gave
excellent tone with 0 friction, but they didn't last long =
enough. They
were an excellent idea, but the bushing material was not nearly as =
durable as
good bushing cloth, so it deformed with use and got =
noisy.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>- Poor =
quality cloth
forces us to use more friction in the center to get the controlled =
motion of
the hammer. I used to work on some grand pianos in the 80s that =
came
from the factory with very poor, spongy cloth in the hammer =
centers. I
would re-size the bushings with water and alcohol, then repin from the =
factory
#19 pins up to #20 1/2 pins. This made thinner, firmer bushings, =
allowed
pinning at about 2 - 4 grams friction, and resulted in dramatically =
improved
tone. These pianos were dull and lifeless from the factory with =
6 to 10
grams friction in the soft hammer centers, and a firm fit with lower =
friction
really made them sing.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>So, when =
evaluating
friction levels in a given piano, I judge by sound and by feel of the =
parts,
and decide how to work with them. Now I work mostly with Kawai =
parts,
and the bushings are very firm with mostly excellent control of the
hammer. In dry climates they sometimes get too thin in tone =
because the
hammer center bushings dry out and become too loose, and repinning =
them to fit
the climate brings the power back up in the tone. I find that if =
I pin
for good solid tone in the mid treble, that same friction =
level is
great for the whole piano.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT color=#000080>Don
Mannino</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=578500117-22102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000080 2px =
solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr =
align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> =
Alan McCoy
[mailto:amccoy@mail.ewu.edu] <BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 22, =
2003
9:30 AM<BR><B>To:</B> College and University =
Technicians<BR><B>Subject:</B>
RE: Pinning and Tone<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond =
color=#800000>Thanks
Don,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond
color=#800000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond =
color=#800000>In
part what I am trying to get at here is distinguishing between =
friction and
firmness in the bushing. Can you hear the tonal difference between a =
note
that has a friction problem vs one that has a firmness
problem?</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond
color=#800000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond =
color=#800000>My
normal procedure in reconditioning an action includes checking =
action center
friction, duh, and I check side to side play gang-style checking for =
winking
hammers, but I'm looking around to see if someone has figured out a =
way to
systematically check for both friction and firmness in an efficient =
way (ie
without painstakingly removing every flange!!)</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond
color=#800000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond
color=#800000>Alan</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond
color=#800000></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=861432016-22102003><FONT face=Garamond =
color=#800000>PS
Bob, Sending them to Marcia is cheating! :-) Hope things =
are
great down there in Modesto.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #800000 =
2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader dir=ltr align=left><FONT =
face=Tahoma
size=2>-----Original Message-----<BR><B>From:</B> =
caut-bounces@ptg.org
[mailto:caut-bounces@ptg.org]<B>On Behalf Of </B>Don
Mannino<BR><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, October 22, 2003 8:11 =
AM<BR><B>To:</B>
caut@ptg.org<BR><B>Subject:</B> FW: Pinning and =
Tone<BR><BR></FONT></DIV>
<DIV>
<DIV class=OutlookMessageHeader lang=en-us dir=ltr =
align=left><FONT
face=Tahoma size=2></FONT></DIV><SPAN =
class=265252321-21102003><FONT
color=#000080>Alan,</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT color=#000080>The =
tone of the
piano can be the best gauge, as poor pinning has a pretty =
distinctive
sound to it. I would describe it as a thin and weak =
tone.
Checking the friction level in a thin sounding note, repinning it, =
and
listening will tell you a lot.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT =
color=#000080>Experience is the
best teacher here. I don't have a specification to tell you, =
except
firm enough by feel and a good solid tone by ear. I =
suppose the
engineers could give you a spec, though. X amount of =
deflection with
Y amount of force applied Z distance from the =
pin.</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT color=#000080>Don
Mannino</FONT></SPAN></DIV>
<DIV><SPAN class=265252321-21102003><FONT
=
color=#000080></FONT></SPAN> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLO=
CKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>