Bill & list I have occasionally seen some capstans that had a very sharp ring of brass at the outer edge of the top, sort of a "halo"-- if you understand what I mean. None recently, but these did cause excessive wear on the wippen cushion and add to friction. Your solution is quite right. A good lesson to be had here is - before over aggressive key easing takes place ( by the last four people who didn't fix the problem) look around as you did. BTW I have just encountered a similar problem on a Baldwin console built 1991. The keys have been over-eased, the hammer rail has been shimmed up, looks like several types of lubrication have been tried, all to no avail. The problem? The spoons are bent to such an angle that they are truly "spooning" out the damper lever felt. Some keys will hardly return. I mentioned this at our last chapter meeting and solutions offered : the spoons may be too short or inserted too deep, shim under the damper lever felt, replace damper lever felt with thicker felt so the spoons may be regulated back to a more appropriate angle, re-regulate the entire damper action. Does anyone else have a solution? Mark Ritchie RPT Cols, OH In a message dated 97-01-24 14:46:35 EST, Bill writes << I just tuned a Baldwin 243, about 30 years old, that I had given a thorough key easing job to about 15 months ago. One key that had been a long standing problem was hanging slightly if you let it return slowly enough. I could find no friction in the key or wippen sufficient to cause it. I took out the key and looked at the capstan head. Seemed smooth enough, but when I ran my finger around the back side, there was a burr big enough to feel but too small to see. A couple of swipes with a file and polishing with 0000 steel wool, and it worked perfectly. Anyone else run into this? Bill Maxim, RPT >>
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