<!doctype html public "-//W3C//DTD W3 HTML//EN"> <html><head><style type="text/css"></style><title>Re: Bluthner Patent Action</title></head><body> <div>At 18:31 +0200 25/9/08, Gregor _ wrote:<br> </div> <blockquote type="cite" cite>here is the German version: http://www.bluethner.de/indexfr.htm  </blockquote> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><font color="#000088">I have translated this below, taking the liberty of making the English slightly more clear and exact than the German.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Now regulation is one thing, but in my experience there are questions of repair that must first be carefully considered, and if the repairs are not properly done it will be very difficult to get the piano behaving as it should.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">1. Regarding the hammers : Blüthner hammers are unlike any other grand hammer.  The way the mouldings are cut up is very special so that the tail meets the check at 180 degrees without any tailing as on, for example a Steinway hammer.  The tails are shaped, as hinted at below, in such a way as to require a certain check angle. The top of the mouldings is not pointed but rounded.  Most important is the weight of the hammer, since the whole action is dependent on a certain hammer weight.  Though I have fitted new hammer-heads to Blüthner in the past, I would now never do so but always have the original hammers re-covered.  Abel's price for doing this is a little more than for normal hammers.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">2.  The two bushed sides of the Blüthner flange are far wider than on a Herz action.  There is a good reason for this, and that is that for the action to behave properly the hammer must be centred very free, so free that if the flanges were of the normal width the hammers would wobble.  If the hammers are centred as one would centre Herz action hammer, it will be impossible to get things happening as they should.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">3.  Great care is needed when removing and replacing the L-spring in the felt clip.  This is made of a hard blue felt and it is easy to make a mess of this if the spring is not carefully eased in and out at the right point.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">4.  Although geometry is hardly an issue with the patent action as it is with the Herz action, it is always good to have an exact drawing of the action and not some miniature rough likeness.  For example Jurgen's drawing is incorrect in several respects, most importantly in the depiction of the hammer rest.  The Blüthner rest is not just a strip of baize but several layers of loose flannel wrapped over with a thin green baize or flannel cloth.  It needs to be like this for silence's sake, since the hammers have only this to cushion their return.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">5.  The L-spring is NOT the equivalent of the repetition spring on a Herz action and the action is not supposed to behave like a Herz action.  Any adjustment of the L-spring alters the effective weight of the hammer and thus of the touch.  The purpose of the spring is to provide the inertia to allow the jack to return under the notch.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">etc. etc. -- anyway here's my rendering of the German instructions:</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div><br></div> <div align="center"><img src="cid:p06240804c5019a5eb050@[10.0.0.1].1.0"></div> <div><br></div> <div><font color="#000088">Die erforderlichen Arbeiten sind in der nachstehenden Reihenfolge durchzuführen. Der Aufbau der Blüthner-Mechanik beruht auf einer Spieltiefe von 9,4 mm und einer Steighöhe von 45 mm.</font></div> <div><br></div> <div><font color="#663300">The required tasks are to be carried out in the following order.  The set-up of the Blüthner action is based on a touch depth of 9.4 mm. and a blow of 45 mm.</font></div> <div><br> <font color="#000088">1. Die Schrauben der Hammerkapseln (1) sind fest anzuziehen. Die Hammer müssen genau auf die Chore gerichtet werden.</font></div> <div><br></div> <div><font color="#663300">1. The hammer flanges must be tightly screwed down.  The hammers must be precisely aligned to the strings.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">2. Unterstellen</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Durch die auf die Taste aufgeschraubte Brücke (2) ist die Stoßzunge (3) so zu regulieren, dass sie ganz leicht unter die Nase der Abstrakten (4) fällt. Gleichzeitig muß der Hammerstiel (5) auf der Polsterleiste aufliegen. Der Balancierstift (7) im Abstrakt muß gerade und senkrecht stehen.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br> </font><font color="#663300">2. Regulating the Carriage</font></div> <div><font color="#663300">The key carriage must be so regulated that the jack easily returns under the notch of the abstract when the hammer is at rest on the hammer-rest cushion.  The guide pin at the bottom of the abstract must be straight and vertical.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br> <br> </font></div> <div><font color="#000088">3. Auslösen</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Der Hammer muß 1,5 mm vor der Stahlsaite und eine halbe Saitenstärke vor den Basssaiten auslösen. Die Schrauben für die Auslösung (8) befinden sich an der Hammer-Polsterleiste.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br> </font><font color="#663300">3. Set-off</font></div> <div><font color="#663300">The hammer must set off 1.5 mm. from the strings or half the thickness of the (bass) string, whichever is greater.  The set-off screws are located on a rail screwed at a right angle to the hammer-rest rail.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">4. Druck</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Im Gegensatz zur Erard-Mechanik ist bei der Blüthner-Mechanik der Druck fester zu machen (kein Nachdruck). Die Taste wird langsam bis auf das Druckfleckdien gedrückt, und dann muß der Hammer noch 1 mm steigen, bis er auslöst, so daß er nur bei mittelmäßigem Anschlag fängt.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br> </font><font color="#663300">4. The Touch</font></div> <div><font color="#663300">The touch of the Blüthner action is firm in comparison with the Herz-Erard action, with no after-touch.  The key should be pressed slowly until it comes to contact with the touch washer, and then the hammer should rise a further 1 millimetre before setting off, so that it only falls into check under a moderate blow.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br> </font><font color="#000088">5. Fänger</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Die Fänger werden etwas schräger gestellt als bei der Erard-Mechanik. Die Fanghöhe ist 24 mm über der Hammerlinie.</font><br> <font color="#000088"></font></div> <div><font color="#663300">5. The Checks</font></div> <div><font color="#663300">The checks are bent forward at a somewhat greater angle than in the Herz-Erard action.  The hammers should check 24 millimetres above their rest position.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">6. Abnicken</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">Die Winkelfeder (9), die das Abnicken bewirkt, muß im Diskant 0,85 mm, in der Mittellage 0,95 mm, im Bass 1 mm Stärke aufweisen. Der Balancierstift vom Abstrakt muß sich leicht durch das Leder auf der Brücke bewegen. Die Winkelfeder muß sich frei in der Polsterung bewegen. Durch entsprechenden Druck auf das Ende der Winkelfeder nach oben oder unten wird das Abnicken reguliert. Der Hammer soll bis auf 3 mm Entfernung von der Saite abnicken bzw. zurückfallen.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#663300">6.  The Drop<br> The steel L-spring responsible for the repetition must be 0.85 mm. thick in the treble, 0.95 mm. in the middle range and 1 mm. in the bass.  The guide pin must move smoothly in the hole in the elkskin pad on the carriage.  The L-spring must move freely in the blue felt clip in the abstract.  The drop is regulated by pressing the end of the spring up or down.  The hammer should drop, or fall,  to 3 mm. below the strings</font><br> <font color="#663300"></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">7. Es ist nun erforderlich, den Druck nochmals zu kontrollieren.</font><br> <font color="#000088"></font></div> <div><font color="#663300">7. It is now necessary to check the regulation of the touch.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">8. Die Dämpfung muß bei halbem Gang angreifen.</font><br> <font color="#000088"></font></div> <div><font color="#663300">8. The dampers must begin to rise at half blow.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">9. Die Pralleiste für die Dämpfung muß so eingestellt werden, daß bei heruntergedrückter schwarzer Taste der Dämpfer ganz wenig Luft hat.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#663300">9. The damper stop rail must be so adjusted that the felts at the end of the sharp keys almost touch the damper bodies when the dampers are raised.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300"><br></font></div> <div><font color="#000088">10. Die gebogene Feder (10), die am Abstrakt befestigt ist, darf in der Ruhelage der Taste nicht auf der Stoßzunge liegen. Die Entfernung beträgt normal etwa 3 mm vom Stösser. Auf ein gleichmäßiges Regulieren ist besonderer Wert zu legen.</font></div> <div><font color="#000088">    </font></div> <div><font color="#663300">10. The button on the end of the curved spring attached to the abstract should not rest on the angled face of the  jack when the key is at rest; there should be a gap of about 3 mm.  It is most important to regulate everything evenly.</font></div> <div><font color="#663300">  </font><font color="#000088">  <x-tab>    </x-tab></font></div> </body> </html>