questions, etc.

[RicB]

Hi Annie

    1)  A friend asked for suggestions on solving dryness problems in his
    concertina.  After some discussion, it occured to me that a soaked clay
    flower pot in a closed container should work like a humidifier in a
    humidor,
    adding moisture without dampness.  To test it out, I soaked a 2"
    clay pot in
    cold water for 5 minutes, patted it dry, and then put it in a flip-lid
    plastic box (12x18x10) with a hygrometer.  The initial humidity in
    the box
    was 33% -- the same as my house right now, given the heat demands of
    this
    cold spell (aaargh!).  An hour later, the interior RH of the box was
    66%.
    And 15 hours later, it's 92%.  The interior temp has not changed
    more than a
    degree or two the entire time.

Not a bad idea, tho a plastic box is kind of a sealed environment and 
wont allow any humidity to escape. I would imagine that even in a small 
room the pot would give off its humidity to the room quite quickly, 
which in turn would (somewhat more slowly) distribute it to the rest of 
the world.   Still.. a big enough pot complete with dirt and a plant 
would have an effect... and a few such potted plants would have more.  
An idea I often suggest is a fair sized aquarium with the glass top 
removed.  In a 15 m^3 room, a 250 litre aquarium will have a very 
positive affect.... grin.. course you have to like fish !



    2)  Question one:  is a pitch lowering likely to be less stable than
    a pitch
    raise, in your experience?  I have observed that when I have to
    lower the
    pitch on a piano (because of environmental moisture), it's more
    likely to go
    back sharp again, regardless of whether I tune it once or thrice.  My
    hypothesis is that the string tension is keeping the piano from
    swelling as
    much as it could -- and so lowering the string tension
    allows/encourages the
    piano to swell more, thus raising the pitch again.  It's like taking
    off a
    pair of shoes that're too tight -- your feet swell up in response. 
    So, am I
    hallucinating?  Has anyone else noticed this?

Actually, I used to have this problem years ago. Especially in slight 
pitch changes downwards.  But I find that if I treat the tuning exactly 
as a pitch raise, i.e. lowering about a 3rd more of the distance then 
the distance between starting pitch and target pitch,  that I end up 
just about exactly where I want to every time for the second pass.  I 
dont like to speculate as to reasons for why things happen much. But I 
can say that if you tune a pitch raise like Dean Reyburn recommends, 
i.e. starting at the bass, using his pitch overpull and tuning 
chromatically upwards you will get the same kind of results... even 
better. BUT... if you use the same pitch overpull he contrived and tune 
octaves chromatically... then on the second pass you will find the lower 
notes of your chromatic octave have dropped back quite a bit more then 
the notes at the top of the chromatic octave.  Kind of speaks to me of a 
system wide stress reaction and not some particular component reacting.


Cant help you on the last question.. Billings flanges is not something 
we see a lot over here... and thankfully drop actions is not something 
I've had to deal with for around 30 years :)

I do remember tho that ofte times these actions did suffer the kind of 
symptom you relate.  I was too young and dumb to know what to do back 
then... but over exageration of friction reduction measures worked.  
Probably not the thing to do tho.

Cheers
RicB

    3)  Question two:  I'm rebuilding a 1916 Starck vertical (with Billing
    flanges) and have rebushed the keys and replaced hammer/jack
    springs, bridle
    straps, and felt (including hammers) in the action.  All
    flanges/pins are
    free but not sloppy.  I can't find have any technical data on this
    piano,
    but I have regulated it to the general old-upright standards, and
    each note
    feels/plays pretty darned well.  So I think I'm safely within acceptable
    limits.

    Except (and I realize this is a direct contradiction to the previous
    statement) that the action, as a whole, feels as though it is
    continuously
    shifting and changing.  A note that repeats beautifully 20 times
    will stick
    the 21st.  Intermittent non-repetition is the single biggest problem.

    Key height/dip/easing, lost motion, let off, checking, and
    aftertouch are
    all within the proper ranges, and damper timing is acceptable.  I've
    lessened the tension on the hammerbutt springs a bit, thinking that they
    were too strong for the jack springs, and that did help some.  I
    also tried
    running some material under the hammerbutt leather on the note that
    makes me
    most crazy (A4, of course)... and it made the problem worse.  I
    suspect that
    the material I used was too soft, thereby hanging up the jack even worse
    than the worn leather.

    Some things I have noticed: the capstans are not all centered in the
    keys.
    And (consequently?) some stickers are not quite vertical (I can
    adjust them
    to vertical, but they won't stay).  Those are the notes most likely to
    stick.  The jack flanges are not noticeably crooked when compared
    with the
    wippens, as that was one suggestion, but the hammerbutt leather has
    almost
    no curve left to it.  So, the only thing I can think left to do is to
    replace the hammer butt leather.

    So the question(s):  am I overlooking something else?  what are the
    tricks
    to replacing hammerbutt leather?  does anyone have specifications?

    Oh, and I forgot to mention, the piano is 200 miles from my home, so
    it's
    not like I can just go next door and try something.  (Yes, I do realize
    (now) how stupid that is.  Just as I am no longer "allowed" to
    choose my own
    boyfriends, I am also barred from choosing my own rebuild projects
    in the
    future.  All candidates must be submitted to The Committee..........
    <g>)

    Thank you, thank you, thank you all -- and I look forward to
    comments and
    suggestions!

    Annie Grieshop
    www.allthingspiano.com




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