<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: Grand Touch</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY BGCOLOR="#FFFFFF"> G'day Kristinn, There have been some excellent posts on this but I have one last thing to a= dd to your heavy action problem. I agree with Stan's suggestions regarding friction, and Jon's 3 part approa= ch is also worth following. Unfortunately, Samick's action geometry is not c= onducive to light touch as Roger has well pointed out, and that is an expens= ive fix...new components, time etc The point is to get the friction right first, then worry about mass, then i= f still in trouble, geometry. Korean pianos are not renown for their consistency with action centres, and= you may find that checking and remedying the action centres creates enough = difference for your customer. I have listed below Renner's (Stuttgart) suggested friction specifications<= BR> for various piano parts. If you can get the centres close to this, you may<= BR> find you have changed enough to get a good result for your customer. Uprights Butt flange 2-5 gms Wippen flange  2-5 gms Jack flange 2 gms +/- 1 gm Damper flange 5-8 gms Grands Wippen lever flange   2+/- 1 gm Damper flange  2-4 gms Damper block   2-4 gms Repetition lever flange 5 +/- 2 gms Hammer shank flange 3+/- 1 gm Jack flange   3+/- 1 gm Steinway damper block fall under it¹s own weight The ideal friction value is between 12-15gms, if you are getting values too= much more than this you know you have a problem and can deal with it using<= BR> Stan's suggestions and the right friction values for each component. Use Richards formula Downweight- Upweight            &nbsp= ;   2          &= nbsp;           = Fri= ction Renner (and most good engineering supply houses) have spring gauges that me= asure the friction in a part extremely well...like any good tool, it costs a bit,= but the quality and usefulness is remembered long after the price has been<= BR> forgotten, I bought the 0.5-6gm gauge and am now wishing I had bought the<B= R> 3-30 gm gauge instead...so many centres seem to be far in excess of where<B= R> they should be. Of course repinning is the ideal solution for tight or loose centres, I hav= e deep reservations about putting any product in a part that has to work for<= BR> years and years... but that said, Protek can assist with certain centre problems. Good luck, because if friction isn't your problem then there is geometry<BR= > stuff that need to be addressed, as I said, expensive! Keep us posted on how things turn out Cheers Mark Bolsius Bolsius Piano Services Canberra Australia ---------- >From: owner-pianotech-digest@ptg.org (pianotech-digest) >To: pianotech-digest@ptg.org >Subject: pianotech-digest V1997 #2121 >Date: Thu, 4 Nov 1999 5:33 AM > >> I´m servicing a relatively new Samick grand that the owner would l= ike to be >> a little lighter. >> >> I´m curious to know, what are your favourite methods in making a g= rand (or >> a vertical) feel lighter to play? >> >> >> Kristinn Leifsson >> Reykjavík, Iceland. >> </BODY> </HTML>