Slow Fall Fallboards

[Don Mannino]

Jory,

We get this question quite a bit at Kawai, and unfortunately the answer
is that it would be very hard to do. Not impossible, though.

The fallboard dampers cost US $112 each, and 2 are required. You also
need the correct brass pivots to go into the side of the case.

The dampers are ~2" long cylinders (about 1cm in diameter) which must be
mounted very accurately into the ends of the fallboard.  This would
require a horizontal boring jig, then a deep-bit router to mill the ends
of the fallboard for the mounting flanges.  These flanges have the screw
holes for holding the dampers into the fallboard.

The brass pivots are also cut into the rim slightly, but this could be
done easily enough with a good chisel.

The dampers can be purchased from Kawai parts, but no guarantees that
the installation will go well!

Another method of holding the fallboard up is to glue key backrail cloth
on either side of the case inside, so that when the fallboard is open,
the rear edges rub against the cloth on both sides.

Don Mannino RPT

> -----Original Message-----
> From: owner-pianotech@ptg.org 
> [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]On Behalf
> Of Jory A. Olson
> Sent: Monday, October 05, 1998 10:11 PM
> To: 'pianotech@ptg.org'
> Subject: Slow Fall Fallboards
> 
> 
> If this has been covered recently please send me the URL for 
> the search engine and I'll dig it up on my own.  I seem to 
> have misplaced that particular URL.
> 
> Anyway, I'm wondering if anybody has ever thought about or 
> attempted to install the "slow-fall" mechanism from a Boston, 
> Kawai, or Yamaha in another brand of piano.  I managed to 
> drop the fall board (maybe that's how it got its name :)) on 
> my Petrof III again last night while fooling around with the 
> music desk.  The bang is pretty loud, (I had to scrap the dog 
> off the ceiling) and I imagine it could really hurt if your 
> fingers got caught.
> 
> I know my Ford Contour has small dashpots on the glove box 
> and ashtray doors so they open ever so slowly.  Seems like it 
> might not be too hard to add to another brand of piano, 
> although I haven't examined a Boston closely enough to see 
> how the mechanism works.
> 
> Anybody tried this?  How were the results?
> 
> Jory
>