Regulation bench bedding

[Farrell]

Thanks for posting Steve. I'm always looking for a way to improve the accuracy of a bench regulation. Your method sounds excellent. I'll have to try it next time.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Stephen Bellieu" <sbellieu@mindspring.com>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Saturday, January 11, 2003 4:23 AM
Subject: Re: Regulation bench bedding


Hey Keith,

I have lately been setting "no aftertouch" on a few notes in the piano with a weight that John Hartman has dubbed the "third hand".  Stack punchings on the frontrail pin of the key in question until it just lets off when this weight is very gently lowered onto it.  It might even letoff a second or two after you have completely released the weight.  When you get to the bench do whatever you have to to duplicate this feat,  tape shims to the front rail or glides or turn down glides or any combination.    I have some wood shims that taper down to nothing.  If needed they are inserted under the frontrail until the deed occurs and then marked and labeled (also mark frontrail).  Locate the action in the same place every time on your bench.( The height of letoff is unimportant in the piano and on the bench, you can set it in the piano if you want just don't change it after removing action until you have set up your bench )  You might need to clamp down the front rail at the two ends to get everything working,  then aftertouch set on the bench will be very close.  No need to measure anything.  My bench is flat marble,  not because I'm that anal (well actually I can be) but because I used to install the stuff.  You don't need a bench that flat.  Some actions need almost an eighth inch under the front rail to duplicate what is happening in the piano.  Steinway frames are stiff enough that they can be duplicated with three notes.  (Well the old ones anyway)  If you have more of a Yamaha style set a couple more notes.  Good Luck.

Steve Bellieu                  P.S.  For various reasons I like to set the glides properly before I take away the action and so I
                                              prefer not to mess with them too much on the bench.
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Keith Roberts 
  To: Pianotech 
  Sent: Friday, January 10, 2003 8:15 PM
  Subject: Regulation bench bedding


  I just replaced the brackets on a Y&C. I brought it home so I could do it on a bench that was the right height. I set my boards to string height and roughed in blow distance and jack position( 1/4" out). Started through letoff and the sharp dip was about right but the whites, the dip was so shallow the hammer rise was shy of letoff by 1/2". I know you can't set dip out of the piano and realized I should have measured the dip because now I'm wondering if the tech that wound all the adjustments out, messed with the dip so as not to break the jack off against the stop. In this case, the drop screws came up 3 turns and the let off buttons 5 turns. So now I'm thinking I should have shimmed the balance rail up to get enough dip so I could set let off. My aching back tells me I'm doing way too much work in the piano. It would be so nice to duplicate the bedding, so the amount of refinement in the piano was minimized. Dale Erwin said I could take sample dip reading of every C and shim the rails to duplicate the dip. 
  Does anybody have any other methods? Would it be better to take the sample dip readings at the notes next to the bedding bolts.
  Your thoughts please.
  Keith R