Steinway lyre

[Newton Hunt]

The pitman is binding in it's hole.

Easy way to fix is to replace the leather below and above the pitman and
rebush the hole.

Best way is to replace the brass pitman with a smaller diameter
frictionless system.  This involves using a 5/8" forstner bit to drill a
flat bottomed hole where the leather was on the lever and under the
damper tray about 3/8" deep.  Remove the felt lining of the hole, cut
two 5/8" felt punchings and a 3/8" dowel the right length.  Glue the
felts to the ends of the dowel and insert into position.  Frictionless
pitman.  It is absolutely critical that you drill the holes in the exact
center of the original pitman location otherwise the new one will rub on
the side wall of the hole.  I have done several without removing the
tray.

                    Newton Hunt
                    nhunt@jagat.com
                    New Brunswick, NJ