Mehlin upt. design

[Lance Lafargue]

Last week I came across an old Mehlin upright with perfect ivory and a
beautiful mahogany cabinet.  It had really been cared for and hadn't been
played much (surprisingly since it was originally a player)  It had been
donated to a Talented and Gifted program and I was the first tech to see it
in a long time. (limited budget here) The hammers were double
striking/bobbling from lack of jack escapement and was about 50 cents flat.
 I thought I would have to shim the balance rail, but when I looked
underneath to begin taking it apart,  I saw adjustment screws with tuning
lever heads like the ones they use on grand balance rail glide bolts,
recessed underneath the FRONT rail of the underside.  Wow.  To my joy, I
just turned those guys, checked across the keyboard with a dip block,
checked the escapement and moved on!  It looked like I had spent lots of
time on it!  When I pitchraised it the bass strings came alive and the
piano was so powerful.  I wonder if these adjustment screws were common? 
They apparently had lots of patents on this piano.  It was well made. 
Would there be any technical reason why this wouldn't be offered on pianos
today?  The easy Baldwin balance rail adjust screws are helpful.
Lance Lafargue, RPT
New Orleans Chapter
Covington, LA.
lafargue@iamerica.net