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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>John,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Oh, yeah, I forgot to ask--did you find that the
balance holes were too, uh, "tall" and needed reaming? It's SOP for me now
to check for that, but I was just wondering if they were really tall,
contributing to that mushy feel.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Thanks,</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Barbara</FONT></DIV>
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<DIV>Barbara,</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I recently did this very job on a 1997 Hamilton (or 243?). This one had
issues with sluggishness for several years. I finally gave them the only
solution that would ultimately work: complete action disassembly, checking and
correcting friction on each hammer, whippen, and jack center; sanding whippen
felts; applying Teflon powder to hammer butts, etc.; and regulation. I
would have preferred a less costly solution for them, but it was the only way
I could actually solve the problem.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Mine responded well to water/alcohol sizing. I disassembled every
action part except for damper flanges, which were fine. Checked
friction, and applied either 10%, 25%, 35%, or 50% solution depending on the
friction there. Some repinning was needed as well, mainly because the sizing
solution worked too well on a few. (Or, that I was too aggressive due to my
lack of experience in choosing which % solution to use.)<BR></DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>During regulation, it became apparent that the balance rail bushings
needed replacement. Cupped bushings were causing significant repetition
problems. I used VS Profelt and cauls on the front rail bushings to renew the
felt there, which worked very well.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>After regulation, it still has some problems with key weighting.
But it plays much better than before -- just a heavier touch than I
like. I'm waiting to make sure the work is satisfactory - I told the church to
play it for 2-3 weeks to make SURE everything was to their satisfaction.
I should know by next week if everything is good.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>I suppose I can always trim the balance rail felts (toward the player) to
help slightly with the heavy touch.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>In all, I worked several more hours that I'd originally estimated.
However, I still feel like a learner in this realm, so it was great
experience. And I was paid well for "learning." Gotta love that!</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV>Hope this helps.</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV></DIV>-- <BR>JF<BR></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>