[pianotech] Pedal squeak

[Arlie Rauch]

I've solved enough pedal squeaks to write a book.  But this one was tougher than most.  Is there an inherent problem in Young Chang consoles that tends to produce squeaks?

I thought the squeak was the worn out pedal bushing under the sustain pedal, so I replaced it.  The squeak came back.  So I did a number of other fixes:  tried to tighten the case board below the pedals which is screwed to the end case pieces with small screws through a piece of metal (the whole bottom board flexes when using the pedal), replaced the worn out bushing on the top of the sustain pedal pole, tightened the loose bases on which the action rests, and lubed the sustain pedal with dry teflon.

After much testing the squeak is not now apparent.  But I don't know what fixed it, if any of those did.  And that's no good.

I've worked on other Young Changs, but this is the first Young Chang console I've seen.  So I'm wondering if there is a theme typical of them.

Arlie Rauch