[pianotech] reverse solution

[Susan Kline]

One thing I noted about Kimball consoles, back when I saw them quite often:
the jacks often stick because the bushings have too much glue on them.
Why drying them out would make them stick worse, I don't know. Maybe the
heat reactivated the hide glue?

Susan Kline

John Formsma wrote:
> That's true for key sticks. However, Wim said specifically that 
> various action centers were tight. Works the reverse of key sticks. 
> More humidity = tighter centers.
>
> Wim, I assume you checked the balance holes, right?
>
> I personally think the problem is right there in front of you. The 
> Kimball name plate.
>
> OK, all joking aside. Many Kimballs that age have multiple problems. 
> Tight balance rail and front rail bushings, tight centers, weak jack 
> springs. Why the sticking is worse without the DC doesn't make sense, 
> assuming the real problem is tight centers. I think you need more 
> data. But, that would involve a return trip to a Kimball, which is 
> currently working well enough to please the customer. Surely you have 
> better things to do with your time, like get a root canal with no 
> anesthetic.
>
> ;-D
>
> -- 
> John Formsma, RPT
> Blue Mountain, MS
>
>
> On Mon, Sep 3, 2012 at 4:00 PM, John Ross <jrpiano at bellaliant.net 
> <mailto:jrpiano at bellaliant.net>> wrote:
>
>     As the moisture leaves the keys, the wood fibres draw together,
>     making the hole tight on the pin.
>     A person tends to think that as the wood dries 'shrinks' the hole
>     gets bigger, as seems to happen with tuning pins in the winter/dry
>     time.
>     I think I am 'thinking' correctly, if not, I am sure I will be
>     corrected.
>     I have been wrong before, and will be again.
>     John Ross
>     Windsor, Nova Scotia.
>
>     On 03-09-2012, at 5:25 PM, tnrwim at aol.com <mailto:tnrwim at aol.com>
>     wrote:
>
>>     Tuned a 40 year old Kimball console on Tuesday last week, 30
>>     cents low.  All the keys were working, except for a few slightly
>>     sluggish jacks in the upper register. But after a treating them
>>     with Protek, they worked fine. The piano has a DC, but it
>>     wasn't plugged in, which I suspected was causing the few jacks to
>>     be tight. So I plugged it in, and told the customer to leave it
>>     on 24/7, as are all DC in Hawaii, explaining the heat will keep
>>     the action from freezing up,
>>     Got a call on Friday saying the keys are sticking. Went back that
>>     evening, and sure enough, about a dozen jacks, hammer
>>     butts,and wippen centers were very tight.  I told the customer
>>     that it wasn't supposed to work that way, so I unplugged the DC,
>>     and told the customer to call me if the keys were still sticking
>>     in a couple of days. This morning he called and said all the keys
>>     are working. Go figure.
>>      
>>     Any one want to speculate why?
>>      
>>     Wim Blees, RPT
>>     Hawaii
>>      
>
>
>
>
-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20120903/37fa6043/attachment.htm>