Dear TechList,
Actually, I've had good success in some situations by simply brushing
the damper felt with a short bristle-brush...mine started Life as a
gun-cleaning tool. It's small enough to fit between damper and strings, with
the damper pulled back, and breaks up the crust on some old uprights with
"zingy" dampers. Re-arranging the felt-fibers with a few strokes takes very
little effort... it's quite time-efficient. Originally saw this done with a
standard kid's toothbrush that had the bristles shortened with a razor. It's
worth a shot when the owner cannot (... or will not) pop for new dampers. And
works, quite often, with lasting results. Have done this on a few grands as
well... but is less effective.
If the brushing doesn't work, I inform the owner that we MUST replace
the felts. The amount of work involved with most of the other options I've
seen is hardly less than the time to install NEW felts... why not???
Jeffrey T. Hickey RPT
Oregon Coast Piano Services
ps- I am going to add an emory-board to the toolkit.
(...yet another gram ot two added to the mass)
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