<html> Hi Mark,               We use either Renner or Yamaha U3 dampers on all our vertical rebuilds. Heres the procedure. First and most important, yet easily forgotten, re-bush the damper rod hangers, we melt paraffin wax into the new bushing cloth, we find it will not squeak for eons. Lift rod is placed on a flat surface and the hangers are straightened and aligned. By being meticulous with the above,it will save a lot of head aches later. Once all the levers  and rod, has been installed spaced and travelled, I like to put the action in the piano, operate the pedal and check for even lift distance from the strings. This will double check your hanger work. I am assuming that the hammer assemblies are removed. Just install the hammer assembly at the end of each section, you need this as a guide for adequate clearance from the top of the damper to the bottom of the hammer. Measure the distance from the bottom of the shoe to the centre line of the damper wire hole, on the old dampers,  this is the combined distance that you will need to arrive at with your new system. We vary from piano to piano, on how we cut down the damper blocks, as we try to avoid having to cut the dowel fittings. How ever some times we have to do both to get even lift. Bend the end damper wires of each section, and dry fit the dampers for correct position and clearance from the hammers.  check to see that the dowel is centred with the strings when you remove the dry damper. tie a piece of string from the two end dowels and use to align the bends and dowel height to string centre. Refit and glue the end dampers place a straight piece of masking tape from damper to damper. Use as a guide to glue the remaining dampers. Check for even lift of pedal rod. Correct as required.  Check to make sure that the bottom of the extra long dampers are clearing the strings, To correct tip the top of the damper head forward. Just take your time, careful work will pay big dividens We order several sets of U3 dampers at a time, as well as the dowels, You will have to count the number of tri's, bi's and uni-cords, and check to see if it works out. I'm sure Yamaha will help you out with oddments, if not give me a call. Have fun. Roger At 09:38 PM 27/10/99 -0400, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>Roger -   Does the U3 set give me enough treble dampers for the 26 bass Steinway? And which set of dowel damper blocks do I get to go with them? Schaff's #529 pg. 82 of their catalog? Do I need more than one set of these? I noticed that on the U1 that I tuned today, the dowels were all the same (short) length, and that Schaff's are two different lengths, with 'slant' and 'straight' treble. (I'm not sure what that means - I thought the whole pupose of dowel damper blocks was to avoid angled holes and extra wire-bending). Are you cutting down the treble damper blocks on the bandsaw because they don't have enough room between the string and the spring rail to work otherwise? - Mark >Hi Mark, >             Use the U3 damper set as that will give you the nice triple wedge >dampers, and cut the over ring to almost nothing >The damper blocks I run through the band saw with a  fence so that you will >end >up with a  basic damper shoe about 1/16" thick. Glue a felt square to the shoe >to act as a hinge, use the the dowel type damper fittings to glue to the >felt. >I use a generous dollop of white glue, it seems to stay nice an elastic, and >does not wick into the felt as much as some other glues. >One tip, make sure that the top of the damper head is tipped very slightly >forward to prevent the bottom of the damper from dragging on the string on >lift. >I have used the over dampers for the first 3 notes of the tenor and it takes >quite a bit of adjustment to get them just right, also used tri damper felt >with satisfactory results but not quite as good. >Go for it you will probably love the results, remember to braid the back scale >area of the bass and tenor. >Hope this helps. >Roger </blockquote> <div>Roger Jolly</div> <div>Saskatoon, Canada.</div> <div>306-665-0213</div> Fax 652-0505 </html>