<div>YES! I found the spring, broken off and thus not very noticeable. It is a retrofit leaf spring mounted on the back wall of the action cavity, on the right side of the damper tray. Doesn't look original, so the last rebuilder must have had the same problem I was having and added this spring. If I didn't find one, I was going to add one myself! </div> <div> </div> <div>Whew! I was panicking, as the piano is due in two weeks and there's much else to do without having to deal with this. Now all I have to do is drive to Schaff tomorrow, pick up a replacement spring, and I can cross dampers off the list. WooHOO!</div> <div> </div> <div>Thanks to all for your helpful suggestions. </div> <div> </div> <div>Tom Sivak</div> <div>Chicago<BR><BR><B><I>Gene Nelson <nelsong@pbic.net></I></B> wrote:</div> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px
solid"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2912" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I think that you may be correct about the broken or missing spring. Most trays have a return spring of some sort. If it was a coil on the tray it may be hiding in there somewhere.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Did the dampers work ok before the rebuild process?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Gene</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=tvaktvak@sbcglobal.net href="mailto:tvaktvak@sbcglobal.net">Tom Sivak</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">Pianotech List</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, August 06, 2006 5:46 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Damper Tray Problem/missing spring?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>No, on second thought there are no damper springs. I would have noticed them when putting the damper wires in. That ain't it.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've got limited time to get this fixed. Let me try again.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Mason AA, total rebuild, now in the process of regulating. Damper tray won't stay down, in contact with pitman, but hangs in the air, actually holding the dampers up off the strings. I can push the tray down till it contacts the pitman and there seems to be very little resistance when doing so, but it pops back up again, almost like being on a spring. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Maybe is there a spring missing that I don't know about?
Should there be a spring that holds the tray in the downward position that perhaps has come off sometime during the restringing, etc.? </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>My knowledge of damper actions is limited, so forgive my maive question. Not sure how to solve this problem, and it's a big one. Piano is unplayable with many strings ringing on. (All the dampers dampen perfectly if I simply hold the tray down and allow them to rest on the strings like they should.)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Help, please!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Tom Sivak</DIV> <DIV><BR><B><I>A440A@aol.com</I></B> wrote:</DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE class=replbq style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #1010ff 2px solid"><BR><< Wha'ts up with this? I can't imagine that there actually IS a spring in <BR>there, holding the tray up. If anything, I would expect there to be a spring <BR>holding the tray DOWN, allowing it to be lifted by the pedal, and then
return <BR>downward with the aid of a spring. >><BR><BR>Greetings, <BR>this is a common problem where there are damper springs in place. If <BR>an axis is shared by the underlever pinning and the tray pivots, any underlever <BR>springs will try to rotate the tray upwards. <BR>Are there damper lever springs on this assembly? <BR><BR><BR><BR>Ed Foote RPT <BR>http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html<BR>www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html<BR><BR></BLOCKQUOTE><BR></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE><BR>