<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 5.50.4134.100" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>See Terry, stick your neck out and.......</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Yeah, I agree, that = is what I thought but this is the way I was shown, kinda. I am not sure of the = reason, the person who showed me had for putting the dampers in the piano as they = glue them, but if I didn't on this Baldwin they would look lousy. In the tenor = section the agraffes are spaced unevenly. The same in the last two Steinways I did. = With the uneven string spacing, the heads don't look like they are right with = different spaces between them. Uneven string spacing is hardly noticeable but = damper spacing stands out. On the Mason Hamlin AA, every third head was tapered = to match the heads to the fan of the strings. Figure out where to center = that felt when gluing. </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>This may be controversial but I think = looks play more of a part in selling a piano than sound. I don't believe I = compromise the damping of the string by off centering the felt to the head. 1 mm can = make a big difference. My damper jobs are getting high marks for looks and = since I complained about regulating behind someone else's glue job, the job is = mine. It's amazing how many regulation problems you can solve in the 15 to 30 = seconds of adjustment time if your wire bending pliers are close. I don't = tighten the screw, they just sit loose on the string.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm thinking I need to pay a little = more attention to how the wires hang through the tray without the felt on and check = each head to see that the wire drops straight away from the head. On this Baldwin, = the board was original so the guide rails and tray hadn't been messed with. = The last two, I had to have the guide rails moved about a mm. It would be nice to = be able to do a quick check of alignment in the piano. Anybody got a set of clip = on felts, all flat?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    Okay, my neck is = stretched out and on the block. I hope the steel hood I added to my flame suit is = strong enough. May be I should have drilled some ventilation holes in = it.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Keith Roberts</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=BobDavis88@aol.com href="mailto:BobDavis88@aol.com">BobDavis88@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Monday, March 24, 2003 = 8:49 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Grand damper felt alignment</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT lang=0 = face=Arial size=2 FAMILY="SANSSERIF">In a message dated 3/22/2003, <A href="mailto:kpiano@goldrush.com">kpiano@goldrush.com</A> = writes:<BR><BR> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #0000ff 2px = solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px" TYPE="CITE">Damper felts on a Baldwin grand. I cut the felts and set = them in order in a<BR>tray. All square cuts on this one. Sitting at the = piano, the glue pot,<BR>dampers and felts to the left, I grab the damper, turn = it over, brush on the<BR>glue, set the felts into the glue quick. A little = fuss with alignment, turn<BR>it over, make sure, then a quick, firm, press. = Knock off the squeeze and put<BR>the damper in place. Of course I've loosened = all the screws and checked the<BR>hole with a drill bit. At this point I = have about 15 to 30 sec to push the<BR>felt around with the tip of a = screwdriver. This aligns the head with the<BR>string and makes the front and back edge = look the same. </BLOCKQUOTE><BR><BR>I don't like to put the dampers in to = use the string as a guide. The head might not be perfectly aligned to the = string, and I want to fix that separately, later. I leave the dampers out until = the glue dries. Alignment of the felt front to back and side to side can be = best done as in the first part of your note. Before the felt is cut, be sure to = mark one side of it (on the surface which is to be glued), and keep all the = marks to the same side. That way, if the felt is not perfectly symmetrical = (hah) it will still match front to back. Then, the eye and fingers are best = gauges of alignment, while the felt and head are still in your hand. If you have = some which are trichord wedges front and back, you can set a knife blade in = the center slots to align if it makes you feel better, but it shouldn't be = necessary.<BR><BR>The damper heads might now not align with the = strings, but you want to fix that anyway - at least the felt is aligned with the head.<BR><BR>Bob Davis</FONT> </FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>