On 20 Oct 1997, Lorlin D. Barber wrote: > begin well past 1/2 hammer blow distance. There was very little lost motion > between the underlever tray and the line of underlevers. It became apparent > to me that the underlever tray was just too close when in rest position. > Raising the underlevers will make the damper lift from key even worse so the > only thing I could see was to put thinner felt under the underlever tray. In > this situation, installing something as thin as understring cloth still won't > lower the tray enough for a good 1/8" of lost motion. Has anyone had any > such problems with underlever tray height? Got any suggestions other than > planing the tray or something else on the drastic side? Lorlin, I'm assuming that the tray can't go any further down because it's already resting on the felts on top of the dags. You might want to consider installing thicker backrail cloth, which will advance the damper pickup with the keys. It will also lower the key height in front, though, so you'll need to make sure the balance rail pins are tall enough to accommodate more punchings under the keys at that point. You should also check the condition and thickness of the key end felts. If they're badly worn, as we sometimes see on Steinways from the 60s and 70s, this could be part of the reason why the dampers are lifting late with the keys. You may have to replace these felts and completely re-regulate the dampers before you can properly adjust the pedal. Good luck! Steve Brady, RPT University of Washington Seattle, WA
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC