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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hello Dave.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A Bechstein with viennese action =
? Never seen
that. Isn't viennese action that with the hammers placed on =
the key,
and turned toward the player ?</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>From what you say (and from the age of =
the
instrument), I believe that it has a Isermann action, where you aling =
the jack
to the knuckles by replacing the little piece of soft felt on which the =
jack
rests (often compressed) by a new one of the correct thickness. =
This is
very important, as incorrect alignment of the jack causes much =
heavyness
due to extra friction of the jack on the knuckle, and extra work of the =
jack
lifting the hammer shank over a longer distance.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If I guess right, the by you called =
capstan
arrangement is a rocker with two screws, and with a little leg linked to =
the
whippen. I believe that this arrangement, well =
regulated, provides
more control and quicker repetition capabilities, as the key never =
looses
contact with the whippen. It is just much more work to take off =
the stack
from the keyframe. Apart from this feature, it should be the same =
as a
modern standard action.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>A common cause of noise in this action, =
apart from
all the worn felt bushings and punchings, is precisely that rocker, =
whose two
screws must be tight against it. Else, you get that wooden noise =
from the
rocker's minute wobbling. You would need a special (horizontal)
screwdriver allowing you to access those screws. There is a "tour =
de
main", when regulating the blow distance with this rocker, to always =
keep good
contact and pressure between both screws and the rocker.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>If the action has a rail attached to =
the back of
the hammer rest rail (but I don't think so), that is a rail intended to =
stop the
upward movement of the back of the key (causing the key to lift from the =
balance
rail on forte blows, thus wobbling), and if that felt is compressed =
also,
you can get much knocking noise from there. Replace the felt by =
mid soft
one, and regulate so the keys fully depressed are just touching this
rail.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hope this helps.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Stéphane Collin.</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; =
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<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: =
black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=Piannaman@aol.com
href="mailto:Piannaman@aol.com">Piannaman@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> Thursday, June 05, 2003 =
7:05
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Viennese Grand Action
Regulation</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=arial,helvetica><FONT size=2>Hello list, =
<BR><BR>Just got through tuning a 200 cm Bechstein grand built in =
1891.
All in all, it was a pretty sweet sounding piano. Except =
for the
action. It's a viennese type action, and it's noisy. I =
guess
that's the nature of the beast. <BR><BR>I am curious if anyone =
can
point me to information regarding the regulation of these actions. =
The
capstan arrangement seems unnecessarily complex. And how does =
one align
the jack to the knuckle? Didn't have time to mess around with =
it, but
I'm very curious about this piano. And has anyone come up with a =
way to
quiet the actions a bit? <BR><BR>Thanks in advance, <BR><BR>Dave Stahl =
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