Mason & Hamlin sustain pedal:

[Larry Fisher]

Well, Garret, regarding you squeeky pedal, some trouble shooting
technique would be the next thing I would pull out of my tech case.

You have to zero in on the source.  Most likely the problem will be in
the mechanism and not a result of wiggling the piano.  If Mason's are
still using wood lyre supports, be sure they are not the cause by
removing them or some other fail safe method.  Now operate the mechanism
with your hands, starting with the pedal.  Push on the pedal and see if
the squeek is still there.  If so move on to the pedal rod and work it up
and down by hand.  If the squeek goes away in either of these cases, most
likely the problem is in the pedal pivot area or the pedal rod socket.
Next push on the lever that the pedal rod pushes on, by hand, and if no
more squeek, then the surface of the pedal rod to lever is the cause, or
the pitmon to lever surface is the cause, or the lever hinge area is the
cause.  Sometimes, an area that is over looked is the area near the hinge
point for the lever.  On some pianos (no brand specific)the lever rubs
against the wood/hardware comprising of the hinge point.  In some cases I
can remove material, in other cases I've had to add some bushing cloth
with teflon powder to eliminate the squeek.  The piano owner's suggestion
of a "lemon" is to be expected.....they just spent a pile of dough on a
toy......and are quite apprehensive about their spending habits....I
would be!  One last area to check is in the action cavity.  Pitmon to
damper lever tray contact, tray pivots, tray rubbing on something,
underlevers noisey, damper guide rail bushings, etc.  The key here is to
narrow it down to a neighborhood.  Good luck.

--- Larry Fisher RPT, Portland Metro's Authority on PianoDisc Systems
        For more information call (360) 256-2999 in Vancouver, Wa.
                      or email larryf@pacifier.com