<!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 6.00.2800.1400" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello Bill,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>    If I were you I'd = listen to what Ed had to say on the subject. How's the tone?  If it's pretty = mellow talk to the customer about whether they would like it brighter. Just getting = rid of some of the outside fluff will do that for you, and at the same time you = could lighten the touch perhaps a little, depending on how much you took off. = As far as the hammer tails go, I wouldn't hesitate to take them off and use a = disk sander and the Spurlock jig to shape the tails. Again, you're killing = two birds with one stone. Look at the coveing inside the tail, and see if you can = improve that, although doing the first two will probably get you down into the = 50/52 gram range.  Stanwood's procedures really help when you're trying = to analyze this kind of situation, by the way. If you're not familiar with = them, you should look into some of the Journal articles, at least. And yes, = check the damper timing...</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Kevin E. Ramsey</FONT></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=ptuner2002@yahoo.com = href="mailto:ptuner2002@yahoo.com">Bill Yick</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, February 16, 2004 = 5:24 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Keyboard touch</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV> <DIV>I have a clients' grand action, an old Gulbransen. Someone has = put on new hammers, and the other parts are in good condition, the ivory keyboard = is in exceptionally good condition. He has carpel tunnel, and is complaining = about the "heavy" touch. I played on it, and it is heavier than I would like = myself. I measured the downweight with gram weights, and it averages 55 = grams +. I took the job, but need some advice. There does not seem to = be excess friction in any of the action parts. It is my opinion that the hammers = are too heavy. They were installed several years ago, but look almost new. = They have a "fuzzy" look, that makes them look as if they are "right out of = the box." They may not have ever been filed. The tails looks as if they = have been barely shaped for the back checks, not the long curve that is typical. = I can see lots of wood that can be taken off. I bought a gram scale so that = I could maybe achieve some consistency in the wood removal. My neig! hbor has = a band saw, and I have a disk sander. I think I could do the wood removal, = measuring the weight as I go. Having never done this job before, what advice can = you give me?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bill Yick, Rpt<BR></DIV></DIV> <P><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT></P></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>