<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] Re: Steinway Damper sytem upgrade & redesign</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> On 11/8/04 12:54 PM, "David Ilvedson" <il= vey@sbcglobal.net> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Joe, If you are not having any noise over the long term, hey sounds good.  =  The whole idea is to eliminate the rubbing of the top and bottom of th= e pitman against the tray and lever.  I still visulize rubbing in your = retro-fit.   The punching works similar to the Baldwin setup and e= liminates any rubbing.   I've never had a customer mention any con= cern with the hole in the bottom of the piano, but I think if they were to t= ake a look under the piano they might just see some other holes already ther= e and the piano seems to be OK...;-]    I take it your removing the bushing cloth in the original hole?  &nbsp= ;Never having any clearance problems?   I will admit drilling unde= r the piano is a pain with sawdust in the face... David Ilvedson </BLOCKQUOTE> Actually, it’s Fred, not Joe <g>. Yes, I remove the bushing clo= th for more clearance. Sawdust on the face goes together with sawdust on the= dark green plush carpet, the noise of drilling into the prized possession &= #8211; people have these emotional connections, and you have to respect them= . And there’s a good bit of extra work to the “Scott Jones desig= n retrofit”: find a way to center the larger bit (sometimes you can fi= nesse a Forstner, but for safety’s sake you need to install a piece of= dowel in the hole as a centering devise, and drill it out along with the ex= tra keybed wood); remove leather and drill shallow holes in trapwork underle= ver and bottom of tray. Lot’s more sawdust and time than bringing a pr= epared substitute pitman, removing the bushing cloth, drilling a hole throug= h the tray leather into the  tray and similarly into the trap lever, an= d installing the pitman. It can even be done without removing the action. 10=  - 15 minute job (plus a similar amount of shop time cutting the rod a= nd drilling and pinning it, including set up and put away).     I do prefer the Scott Jones design (I think he was = the one who came up with it when he was in R & D at S & S), so if I&= #8217;ve got the piano apart for another reason I’ll do that. But for = someone complaining of too heavy a pedal, or where pitman rubbing is causing= excess noise, and where time and effort are at a premium, my method is fast= , effective, and long-lasting.     You do have to fudge the placement of the pinned pi= tman toward front or back to avoid rubbing (I forget which – I’d= need to be under a piano to visualize it, I’m thinking back), but the= re’s plenty of room. There’s no rubbing except for the pins at t= he end of the pitman in the holes (which need to be a bit oversized for the = purpose). Hey, it’s the same design Yamaha and much of the rest of the= world uses. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico http://music.unm.edu/about/staff_members/fred_s_st= urm.php "There is more to life than increasing its speed." Gan= dhi </BODY> </HTML>