You can "fluff up" the crusty damper felt with an emery board or something similar. I wouldn't leave any grooves in the damper felt before reinstallation -- otherwise, it would indeed take hours. Could you also peel off a layer of the flat felts if there were deep grooves?
<br><br>JF<br><br><div><span class="gmail_quote">On 6/28/07, <b class="gmail_sendername">Dean May</b> <<a href="mailto:deanmay@pianorebuilders.com">deanmay@pianorebuilders.com</a>> wrote:</span><blockquote class="gmail_quote" style="border-left: 1px solid rgb(204, 204, 204); margin: 0pt 0pt 0pt 0.8ex; padding-left: 1ex;">
I'll second that. I never touch a damper flange screw on worn dampers if<br>there are no problems. If you tighten them or take them off and reinstall,<br>the flange will likely move slightly and the grooves will no longer line up
<br>with the strings. The result is ringing dampers that you can spend hours<br>fussing with trying to reseat the worn grooves.<br><br><br>Dean<br><br>Dean May <br></blockquote></div><br>