Keith: I have done several in the past few years. I use a knife blade to dig out the tails from the rail (after removing the felt covering it). I try not to disturb the slot the tails are wedged into. Just dig the tip of the spring wire out of the end of the slot. When I've finished doing all, and cleaning out all the old springs, I install the new springs one at a time, using a small tipped slotted screwdriver to drive the new spring down into the slot. I usually have to punch two times, one near where the spring comes out of the hole, and one near the tip. I place the screwdriver tip perpendicular to the spring tail and drive the tail into the slot. If there is any tail left over sticking out, I cut the excess off with centerpin cutters. Start from one side of the rail (I go left to right) and work one by one to the other end. Then glue the felt back on or replace it. Sometimes the felt itself has corrosive elements impregnated into it, so if you suspect this, replace it. When you replace the springs, you might want to adjust the tension since they will probably be stronger than the ones you replaced. You can shim the rail away from the hammers to lessen the tension, or bend the springs to lessen the strength of the springs. Just make sure that the length of the spring isn't too short to ride nicely in the slot in the hammer butt. It works for me! Good luck, Paul McCloud, RPT San Diego, CA
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