[pianotech] Odd Wippen

[William Monroe]

Hi Joe,

Don't really know.  The action came out of a piano in an attempt to
"make it work" again.  A previous technician enjoyed "re-whatevering"
the thing to death.  The person managed to install a new pinblock
without coving the front edge, so the fallboard can't open/close.
Well, OK, it can, but you have to unscrew the cheek blocks and remove
the fallboard to perform said action.  I managed to remove enough
material to get THAT working again.  And yes, it appears the previous
person really had fun hanging new hammers.  Maybe he did it in situ.
That would explain the glue globs on top of all the key end felts.

There were no names/serial numbers anywhere on the piano that I could
find.  Nothing on the plate, soundboard, fallboard, action, etc.
Here's a couple other photos of the action, too.


Any other regulatory suggestions welcomed.  Thanks for the help so far....

William R. Monroe


On Mon, Jan 25, 2010 at 3:37 PM, Joseph Garrett
<joegarrett at earthlink.net> wrote:

    William asked: "Does anyone happen to have anything like this.
Never seen one before,
    and I need about two dozen. The top of the repetition lever (the
    little sliver above the jack return stop felt) has a propensity for
    breaking. Surpise. Opened up this action on the bench today to
    discover this problem. Anyone???"

    William,
    That looks like a Brambach wippen. Is it? If it is, then you are
totally out of luck getting replacements. However, there is a fix: cut
appropriate sized slips of wood, (maple). Clean the top of the
balancier lever where it has broken, with sandpaper paddle, to get a
flat surface to glue to. Glue the wood slips on that surface. After
glue has set up, shape the area to match the other wippen/balancier
tops. Sand with fine, (180 grit), sandpaper. apply some DAG and
burnish with leather. re-install.
    I would also look at why they are breaking. (i.e. poor grain
orientation or possibly a "pounder" flogging the bejeebers out of the
piano,...while it is in poor regulation. The middle of the jack top
should be in line with the front of the rosewood in the knuckle. That
way, excessive pressure cannot be transfered to the balancier tip. I
also noticed that the balancier spring adjustments are all over the
map. Just a few thoughts from someone who works on those and owns
one.<G>
    Regards,
    Joe


    Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon)
    Captain, Tool Police
    Squares R I
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