Finally I got around to taking the action out of the Stieff upright (1890) and the first order of business was to figure out why the hammer return is so sluggish. So I took a hammer out of the action and held the flange, and the hammer will just stay suspended in the 9 o'clock position. CLP did not improve the situation much, so I removed the pin and I could see some corrosion where the flange bushings were. I replaced the old pin (size 20 1/2) with a new pin of the same size and voila! It's exactly the same, no improvement at all. I tried a size 20 pin but it is too loose in the hammer butt. I know these are pretty basic questions, but I want to do this the right way; this is a pretty nice piano and has potential. So... Should I ream the bushings? Is there another (better?) way to shrink the bushings a bit to make this 20 1/2 size pin looser? Will Goose Juice make a difference where CLP failed? Is there a size 20 1/4 pin I don't know about? Tell me I don't need to rebush, please, tell me I don't need to rebush. This is an area (flanges/bushings) in which I am more ignorant than I'd like to be, which is why I buy these old pianos and fix'em up. I am forced to solve problems with little monetary risk (this piano cost me $100) and no client looking over my shoulder. (Plus, it's alot of fun.) Any advice is (always) appreciated. Tom Sivak
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