> I thought I'd mention an interesting and useful material I've found for > shimming the frontrail holes in the keys of a McCobb fortepiano > (Graf copy) ^^^^^^^^^ NOT a copy. > here. This instrument is 15 years or more old, and the keys produced > considerable clacking noise because of excessive play on the front pins. I > should mention that the keys have what I suppose might be termed "key shoes" > (as opposed to recessed "plates") made of hardwood, U-shaped, and glued to th > e > bottoms of the keys around the frontrail hole. I assume these were installed > in the hope that the hole would stay the proper size for a longer time, but > these are also ultimately what caused the problem of clacking. Because once > they've worn enough to allow for any play whatsoever then there can be plenty > of noise introduced. In a recital here a couple of years ago the noise could > be heard clearly from the audience. > This illustrates very well the pitfalls involved with trying to improve on early builders' designs. Graf did *not* use these `shoes' on his instruments...I'm not aware of noise problems on original 150 year old Grafs due to front key bushing. Does the McCobb have hardwood key buttons on *top* of the keys, over the front bushings, as used by Graf? Stephen Birkett (Fortepianos) Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos Waterloo, Ontario, Canada tel: 519-885-2228 fax: 519-763-4686
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