Touchweight Question: Bill Ballard

[Farrell]

".... what are your string heights here?"

Indeed you are right. I have a 1947 Baldwin M in my shop also. The Baldwin string height is 7-5/8" and the Knabe string height is 8-3/4". It appears that most of the height is made up in tall key height at the rear and the long capstan. Why should this be a problem? In this particular case where the capstan contact is above the magic line, I should be able to shorten the capstan a tad and put on a wippen with a taller heel. Doesn't that fix it?

You mentioned upper limits of string height. What is that? And exactly what does a tall string height do for you or how does it work against you? I do service a old Decker grand that has a mile-high string height (don't have the measurement - but it was so obvious with just a casual glance).

What I really don't understand is the knuckle contact being very low. It doesn't even meet the magic line at letoff. What would cause that & how to fix?

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Bill Ballard" <yardbird@vermontel.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, January 05, 2003 11:29 PM
Subject: Re: Touchweight Question


> At 9:39 PM -0500 1/5/03, Farrell wrote:
> >BUT magic lines are all out of whack (capstan is way high, and 
> >knuckle contact is way low), and bass keys have six leads in them 
> >(YES, THAT'S RIGHT, SIX LEADS IN EACH KEY!!!!). I know something has 
> >got to change here. I'm ready to go fishin' with new parts. Any 
> >great suggestions on where to start? (Constructive, please.)
> 
> Terry, what are your string heights here? I'll bet you the extra 
> height in your capstans corresponds to extra string height, a common 
> feature of 19th century grands. Check to see whether that string 
> elevations have exceeded what upper limits Del may have told you on 
> this.
> 
> No sure way around this one. Like the tenor bridge in a Steinway A1, 
> you're stuck with that string height. Unless you want to mill a 1/2" 
> off the cheeks of the rim, as a way of reducing the string height. Oh 
> yes, and the fall board as well.
> 
> You're stuck with an action mounted a standard distance down from the 
> string plan, but sitting on a keybed 1/2" lower than normal from the 
> string plane. (Actually, it is the string plane which is set high.) 
> The more the action geometry is extended vertically, the more the 
> rotation yields horizontal sliding friction motion. Not a great idea, 
> but a legacy.
> 
> At 8:45 AM -0500 1/5/03, Farrell wrote:
> >"...such a piano, whose rebuilding right now seems based on faith in 
> >its as a good candidate for rebuilding."
> >
> >Just curious, what do you mean by the above statement? Faith in what?
> 
> Faith in the final, thus far unseen result. But that's not saying 
> very much actually. All of our rebuilds get done on this faith, 
> simply on the basis that the particular pianos deserve this kind of 
> work (ie. will return musical rewards), and also that we can 
> successfully do the work. The second assumption is a no-brainer for 
> us rebuild-hardened piano techs. As for the first, it helps to have a 
> gold-plate name like Steinway, but barring that, a piano of a certain 
> quality of design, construction and materials, in reasonable 
> (rebuildable) condition for all of its decades. Which is what you and 
> your clients are doing.
> 
> So in this process the decision surfaces, about whether to 
> reincarnate the keyboard to run on standard keypins. It's a jump in 
> expense, and more to the point, the extent to which they pour money 
> into this piano, which they've selected for this work, based not 
> because of its "immortal name" but because of its own inherent 
> strengths. It is a matter of faith, as I said above involving two 
> assumptions.
> 
> The question I was aiming at (although not voicing) was, would new 
> key buttons, balance holes, and front mortises (on standard pins) be 
> a less intimidating decision for the owners, if the piano also had an 
> immortal name? This a matter of budget policy, ie., how "hole-hog" do 
> we go on a piano, which if we need to sell it, would not have the 
> immortal name on top of its own musical qualities to convince people.
> 
> You've got plenty of good suggestion for sticking with the original 
> pins and mortises. My point is now moot.
> 
> Bill Ballard RPT
> NH Chapter, P.T.G.
> 
> "Talking about music is like dancing about architecture"
>      ...........Steve Martin
> +++++++++++++++++++++
> _______________________________________________
> pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives