No capstans?

Billbrpt@AOL.COM Billbrpt@AOL.COM
Sun, 11 Aug 2002 00:11:07 EDT


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In a message dated 8/10/02 10:57:25 PM Central Daylight Time, 
pianolover88@hotmail.com (pianolover 88) writes:


> Working on an old Schubert full up., circa 1895. Not sure how to adjust for 
> losr motion after filing/reshaping hammeres. No capstan but raised wodden 
> type buttons at end of keys with 2 screws holding them on. they don't 
> appear 
> to be adjustable, so i wonder the best/correct way to eliminate lost motion.
> 
Terry,

While those rocker type capstans are adjustable, it is difficult and you 
don't want to do anything but make a slight adjustment.  Really, the same 
should go for any other type of capstan.  Check the back rail cloth.  It is 
likely to be in poor condition.  Replacing it with the right thickness cloth 
will largely take up the lost motion if there is a lot of it.

If it is in good condition, you can shim that cloth until you have your lost 
motion generally taken up.  Remember, that cloth should only be glued with a 
bead of glue at the back end so that some veneer or thin cardboard can be 
used to shim it to the proper height.  If you don't have different 
thicknesses of cloth available, use whatever you have, so long as it is not 
too thick.  Then, use shims to take up the rest of the space.  This should 
allow you to make a precise adjustment with only slight turn to the screws 
rather than major cranking.

Pitch volatility is one thing I have noticed with the kind of piano you are 
working on.  They can really go extremely sharp or flat depending on the 
conditions.  If that environment is always very damp, get the "tropical" 
humidistat which has a higher setting.  Then, once you've got the moisture 
stabilized, get the pitch down where it belongs.

Good luck,

Bill Bremmer RPT
Madison, Wisconsin
 <A HREF="http://www.billbremmer.com/">Click here: -=w w w . b i l l b r e m m e r . c o m =-</A> 

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