<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2800.1170" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Tom,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>In a pinch one can slip a piece of = sandpaper between the dampers and pull out a few times to get the dampers to = clear. I have used this idea on drop actions where I did not want to pull the action. = On these I used a 1/32" X 1 1/2" X  8"  steel file that I purchased at = a convention years ago for hammer shaping. Two grits on the same side on = different ends, 80 and 120 or so.</FONT></DIV> <DIV>Joe Goss<BR><A href="mailto:imatunr@srvinet.com">imatunr@srvinet.com</A><BR><A href="http://www.mothergoosetools.com">www.mothergoosetools.com</A></DI= V> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Tvak@aol.com href="mailto:Tvak@aol.com">Tvak@aol.com</A> = </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Wednesday, August 13, = 2003 2:09 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> damper felts too = wide</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT face=Geneva = color=#000000 size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">List<BR><BR>Kimball grand, circa 1930 or = so.  Bottom 5 or 6 dampers won't dampen.  They seem to descend = slowly...except when lifted by the damper pedal.  Then, they all plop right down = and dampen just fine.  Upon further examination, I find that if I = hold the adjacent dampers away, I can get any of them to dampen just fine when = lifted by the key.  Looks as if the damper felts are in contact with one = another, and when lifted singly, the friction from the adjacent damper = felt is enough to slow its descent and make it not dampen properly.  = These are monochord dampers, and through the ages, I think they've spread a little.  (It's happening to me...why not a damper = felt?)<BR><BR>Assuming that this is the proper diagnosis of the problem, what would you = recommend using to narrow the offending damper felts?  Some possibilities = in my feeble mind include:<BR>     1.  Using = sandpaper to file them.<BR>     2.  I don't think I could = razor blade them neatly enough...<BR>     3.  = Ironing them...?<BR>     4.  Squeezing them with a pliers.<BR>     5.  Alcohol and a heat gun.<BR>     6.  Just a gun.  (Aimed at = my right temple. That'll stop those bass strings from ringing!)<BR><BR>I'm = pretty sure that I've correctly analyzed the problem, but can anyone think of = another reason these dampers will dampen as a group, but not = individually?  The damper rod is not holding them too high.  They are not = misaligned.  There is not much follow through, but they dampen fine as a = group.  There is sufficient lift of the dampers from either the pedal or the = key.  <BR><BR>Thanks in advance for any ideas, suggestions...or = guns.<BR><BR>Tom Sivak</FONT><FONT face=Geneva color=#000000 size=2 = FAMILY="SANSSERIF"></FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>