<HEAD> <STYLE>body{font-family: Geneva,Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;font-size:9pt;background-color: #ffffff;color: black;}</STYLE> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.6000.16414" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY> <P>Hi, Dave:</P> <P>Having worked for the Baldwin dealer for years, I'll make a stab at the problem.  Especially in spinets, it's hard to see that sometimes the bridle strap gets hung up on the catcher.  Also, some Baldwins have a different kind of bridle wire, where the end is not bent into a triangle, but is almost straight with a few little bends at the end.  Sometimes the bridle strap slips down the wire.  You might then put a drop of glue on it to prevent it slipping again.  You'll need a good flashlight to see what's going on in there.   </P> <P>You may also have a problem with the felt on the bottom of the damper lever.  Sometimes moisture gets in there and leaches something out of the felt onto the spoons.  It gets crusty, and like sandpaper, digs a deep hole in the felt.  This causes a sluggish action and non-returning keys.  The symptom of this particular problem is exhibited where the key sticks when the damper pedal is NOT pressed.  If you press the damper pedal, the key works fine in that case.</P> <P>Best of Luck!</P> <P>Paul McCloud</P> <P>San Diego</P> <P> </P> <DIV id=compText><BR><BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 0px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px solid">-----Original Message----- <BR>From: piannaman@aol.com <BR>Sent: Mar 29, 2007 8:29 PM <BR>To: pianotech@ptg.org <BR>Subject: Baldwin spinet "lost motion" issue twice in one week.... <BR><BR><ZZZHTML><ZZZBODY> <DIV><SPAN contentEditable=false style="DISPLAY: inline-block"></SPAN>...or "why I love spinet pianos!"</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>First piano was in a multimillion dollar home.  A little Baldwin spinet, this one with inverted sticker type action.  The lady had purchased it for 400$ without any kind of consultation, and her husband and five if his friends had toted it up the stairs and into their castle.  I was tuning away, and found one note that wouldn't regulate.  Everything was there, but the lost motion ate up about a quarter inch of keydip.  I looked for things that might be wedged in there, but I could find nothing.  And I didn't have time to pull the action, having already spent most of the appointment pitch raising the pso and vacuuming out the various places where who-knows-what may have dwelt.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Second piano, a just-delivered rental piano, had the same symptoms--again on only one note--but it was one of the newer type Baldwins with the rubber grommets hooked into the lifter fork, and the plastic nut on top.  </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I checked linkage as much as I could, but could find nothing wedged anywhere on either instrument, though on the second one the connecter to the elbow was sitting up too high.  Very frustrating.  I explained to the owner and renter that this is one big reason why spinets in general should be avoided.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Anybody experienced this?  Thoughts on why this might occur?  I'm convinced that there is something  wedged inside that I can't see or get to without yanking the action, but any suggestions are more than welcome!</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV style="CLEAR: both">Dave Stahl, RPT but humbled by Baldwins again<BR><BR>Dave Stahl Piano Service<BR>650-224-3560<BR>dstahlpiano@sbcglobal.net<BR>http://dstahlpiano.net/<BR><BR><BR><BR><BR><BR></DIV> <DIV class=AOLPromoFooter> <HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"> AOL now offers free email to everyone. Find out more about what's free from AOL at <A href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/1615326657x4311227241x4298082137/aol?redir=http://www.aol.com" target=_blank><B>AOL.com</B></A>.<BR></DIV></ZZZBODY></ZZZHTML></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV></BODY>