<html> <head> <META HTTP-EQUIV="Content-Type" CONTENT="text/html; = charset=us-ascii"> <meta name=Generator content="Microsoft Word 10 (filtered)"> <style>  </style> </head> <body lang=EN-US link=blue vlink=purple> <div class=Section1> Dave:       =       Yesterday I came up with a nifty idea for getting rid of that disturbing click on = a Baldwin Hamilton.  The piano had been sold with the promise (!) = that I would take care of the noise.  After boldly declaring it was simply = not possible to do without replacing the hammer butts, I swallowed my pride = and realized the sale would fall through if I didn’t do something quick!   What I did was to place a self adhesive felt dot (the = kind you put under objects you don’t want to scratch the surface they = sit on) about 3/8” diameter on the back edge of the jack tip, with the = felt just peeking over the tip edge.  The felt is thus on the butt side and = does move the jack out slightly away from the butt.  You just want to = cushion the leading edge of the jack tip so it doesn’t make that = sound.  The self adhesive barely covers the edge and just a little on the jack top = insures the felt will stay there.  Long term I don’t know if this = will be permanent, but at least the piano will stay sold.       =       If you do this repair, I would offer the following procedure to save you time.  I wasted hours removing each whippen, installing the felt = and replacing the whippen.   I did two sections until I realized how it = could be done much easier and faster.  I removed all the bridle tapes, then = the letoff rail.  I used an action jig to lay the action face down.  The = jack tips could then be accessed easily.  I used acetone to remove the = dag from the tips so the adhesive would stick better.       =       I had to do a little regulating afterwards.  The lost motion will be disturbed, as well as the letoff adjustment.  Most hammers were = blocking after I installed the felts.        =       Bottom line is, if you can’t soften the butt leather, why not soften the = jack tip (edge)?  I’d have rather had a system to cut the edge of = the jack and install some kind of rubber, but this would have taken more = time than to replace the butts.       =       FWIW.  Hope it helps.       =       Paul McCloud       =       San Diego =   -----Original = Message----- From: = pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On Behalf Of Piannaman@aol.com Sent: Monday, May 19, = 2003 7:25 PM To: pianotech@ptg.org Subject: Re: Bedevilled = by a Baldwin yet again   List, I was finally able to get back to my friend's house to check out the = Baldwin Studio that was making a really obnoxious clicking noise.  I went = out to the lady's house today to try to solve the problem.  Well, I was right....there was not enough keydip!  It took me awhile to figure = out what was causing the noise.  Turns out it was the backslap of the = jack on the corfam that was creating the sound.  The harder I hit it the = harder it slapped back.  The nanosecond delay also confused me and made it = seem almost like a rattle. I gave it a quick remedy:  I de-regulated the let-off buttons half = a turn, and voila, the clacking was gone in every key.  The jacks were now = a couple of millimeters away from the rock-hard corfam on the rebound due = to the introduction of more aftertouch.   I did not have time to regulate the keyheight and keydip this afternoon, = but those are the next things I will check.  Increasing let-off = distance is a very temporary remedy.  There is nowhere near the power in the = hammer blow as there was before my "fix." But the noise that was driving = Linda buggy is a thing of the past. Thanks for all of the input! Dave Stahl In a message dated 5/10/03 7:25:27 PM Pacific Daylight Time, = Piannaman@aol.com writes: Just a little to much key = dip. The jack is slapping the let off rail a bit hard. Maybe the glue on the felt = there was over done. Did the clacking start when you took out the lost motion? = Sure sign you have to much dip. Keith Roberts Keith, This just got me thinking.  If anything, the dip is too shallow. =  The key height does not seem right to me, either:  it's too low, if I = were to judge just by looking at it.   I got so focused on the action, = I neglected the keys.  I'm wondering if maybe certain keys are = hitting the keyslip.  It sure sounded like whippen/hammer assembly noise, but = noises do tend to get tossed around in there, don't they? Thanks to everyone for their suggestions.  I'll let you know what = it was when I figure it out!   </div> </body> </html>