Help with Upright Steinway Sostenuto

[Vanderhoofven]

At 09:14 AM 8/10/97 -0700, you wrote:
>David,
>
>The lip of the rod should be 1/16" below the felt tabs. Adjust it by
>shimming the rod brackets up and down on the keybed. 

Is it acceptable to adjust the height of the sostenuto rod by loosening the
screw that holds it tight, moving the bracket up and down and then
retightening the screw?  Or is it preferred to shim the rod bracket up and
down on the keybed?  I already tried to make an adjustment by loosening the
screw, adjusting and retightening.


>If you
>are going to be getting referrals from a Steinway dealer who doesn't give
>you any backup, no sense making yourself look bad. New Steinways do need a
>lot of prep (I spent close to 2 years doing it for a dealer who did back us
>100% - even when Steinway disagreed!

I think that the Steinway dealer would back me pretty well, and we have a
good relationship.  I just hadn't called them yet because it was in the
evening on Friday when I got back home from this appointment.  I am sure
that when I do call them they will be very helpful.

>Oh, about your squeaky sostenuto rod teflon bushing - I came accross a few
>of those. Sometimes the bushing can be damaged - Steinway sells
>replacements, and the replacement is quiet. Sometimes, the bracket is too
>tight (sounds like you did that when you bent it). Just throw away the
>teflon and replace it with good ol' bushing cloth. It works just fine...
>
>Israel Stein, RPT


I will call and order some more teflon bushings to see if that will help
it.  If I did bend the sostenuto rod, (or if it was already bent), how can
I tell?
Is there a way to check this?  How tight should the brackets be?  Tight
enough to hold but still loose enough for the rod to turn?

By the way, I did some more thinking... are the metal wires that hold the
felt tabs adjustable by screwing them in and out like back check wires?  If
so, I can probably screw them out further to catch on the rod lip.

Thanks for the suggestions and the help.  I still have a few more
questions, but I am learning more about it.

Sincerely,
David


David A. Vanderhoofven, RPT
Joplin, Missouri, USA        
e-mail:  dkvander@clandjop.com

web page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/
#pianotech page:  http://www.clandjop.com/~dkvander/ircpiano.html