Schimmel/Tight Renner shammer flange centers

[jolly roger]

Hi Patrick,
                 The key fitting and hot box solution is a safe and easy
way to find out what is going on, do it in two stages.
1. Dry the action down and show the customer the improvement if any.   Then
they will realise you have have only dried the action.
Under those conditions I would doubt a damp chaser will solve this problem.
2. Fit and lubricate the keys and pins.
If the drying solves the problem,  Lub with silicone and naptha.  If
problem returns, then suggest complete repinning.

Actions like this, and with plating problems, I will warn a customer of all
options, to prepare them for the fairly expensive job of complete reamimg
and repinning.   This type of problem has a way of continually haunting you
with call backs if not handled right.
So prepare the customer as soon as possible.

Roger




At 09:48 AM 9/9/01 -0400, you wrote:
>Dear List:
>I have a customer with a recent (approx. 5 years old) 6' 10" Schimmel 
>grand. They've been resistant to suggestions about climate control 
>but one of their sons is pretty serious about piano, so he's 
>complaining to the parents (not just me) about the heavy touch. It 
>hadn't seemed too bad earlier, but after a summer with a very 
>pronounced heat wave/extreme humidity, the downweight is very high 
>(70 g), and individual hammers only swing 1-2 times on the swing 
>test. Some of these hammers don't look too bad on my inexpensive gram 
>resistance gauge, though.
>They're immigrants from Taiwan so they don't think New England is 
>humid, and generally have all the windows open on the most humid 
>days. I've tuned pianos in Taiwan, so I understand where they're 
>coming from, but the Schimmel ain't prepared for such humidity.
>What's the consensus on the best way to deal with high friction in 
>Renner hammer flanges? Are liquid solutions "out" because of Renner's 
>usage of graphite in the  center felt? Would the best protocol be to 
>place the action in hot box to drive the excess moisture out, and 
>then see what I'm dealing with?
>If this were an older piano I would probably start with a Protek 
>treatment, then  repin using the Mannino broaches.
>Is there a factory rep available to consult on "Schimmel authorized 
>procedures?"
>TIA,
>Patrick
>PS There's a fair amount of friction in the keys too -- I'll need to 
>polish & lube the pins, probably need to ease the br hole, and iron 
>some key bushings
>