[pianotech] key leveling with a curve

[Tom Servinsky]

Horace
Amen
Tom Servinsky
  ----- Original Message ----- 
  From: Horace Greeley 
  To: pianotech at ptg.org 
  Sent: Thursday, October 14, 2010 7:37 AM
  Subject: Re: [pianotech] key leveling with a curve



  Hi, William,

  At 06:00 AM 10/13/2010, you wrote:

    Hi Paul,

    I would respectfully disagree.  When at the factory three years ago (and this spring) we looked at the CNC machine that does the cutting to radius the key bed.  It was still done then, and I've heard nothing to the contrary in the past three years.  FYI.

  Yes.  The problem is that, as I think I've noted elsewhere, this is simply one more instance in which S&S is consistently predictable in their inconsistency.  That is, from a certain point of view, using CNC devices to do the rough cutting of keybeds at some point in their manufacturing process is one thing.  It's quite another to change manufacturing processes (e.g., not necessarily _design standards_)  in ways which materially affect as-built standards.  Those kinds of changes are notable if one looks at enough instruments over a long enough period of time...especially when one has to re-engineer whatever has happened on the line in order to figure out what may/may not be going on with a specific piano.  By that, I mean that, from a certain point of view, it really doesn't matter how the cabinet work is done if the end result is consistent inconsistency with regard to the product - and, there's been plenty of that over a very long time in the specific are of forefinishing.

  And, yes, I've seen the CNC machines in operation in Astoria; and I've also seen them sitting quiet, obviously not in use.  It's really had a great deal to do with who has been in charge of manufacturing at any given time over the years.  Further, let's please not forget that an issue of increasing seriousness to many manufacturers, especially ones in the piano business over the last 60 years or so, is the paucity of real cabinet makers coming through the doors seeking employment.  

  Putting aside much of the above, though, because it really obfuscates what we're talking about, the issue with the keybed and how that affects key leveling has to do with the whole forefinishing process.  And, as critical as that area is to Steinway, they are still having real problems with getting much consistency with the whole process.  Beds and keyframes come through all over the place...often being planar where they should be concave, concave where they should be convex...etc.  In that context, I fully concur with Ron (and others) that building a crown into the key height, however rewarding it may be from a standpoint of ego or technical competency is simply not noticed  with sufficient frequency.  Does that mean I don't do it?  Of course not.  It just means I'm quite realistic about why I'm doing it and for whom.

  Best regards.

  Horace




    William R. Monroe


    On Tue, Oct 12, 2010 at 9:27 PM, <PAULREVENKOJONES at aol.com > wrote:

      You'll have to live with maybe. I do. Six impossible things before breakfast and all of that...And it's totally irrelevant which side I fall on. No need to be pushy.:-) 



      Hamburg used this bed/frame curving up to a point, and no longer do. New York gave up doing this years ago. 



      See the attached communication from Horace Greeley from 1997.



      Paul


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