Warped Action Frame

[Avery Todd]

John,

>I need help to get an action ready to install back in a Stegler Grand,
>by tomorrow as it is needed tomorrow night.  I think that is a Sammick
>name.

   Given the time frame you mention, I don't know if there is too much you
can do. You may have to just get it playing, even if it's not correct, and
then come back afterward to try and solve the problem.

>The action had tight action centres and it was away out of regulation.
>The action centres are ok now, but on trying to regulate I found
>insufficient key dip, to allow for let-off and aftertouch.
>Everything was going well till I got to the treble third of the
>keyboard, when I noticed the balance rail pins were too deep in the key.
>On checking I found an excess of punchings and the glide bolts turned
>down too far. Now they are back up the mid section of the frame is up in
>the air, I could clamp it down to get the key height and dip correct.
>But what happens when I put it back in the piano?
>Help
>John M. Ross
>Windsor, Nova Scotia, Canada

   Back in the piano, it'll probably just return to the same position it
was. If you *do* have to just get it to work temporarily, I think I'd
regulate it just as the frame is until you can correct the problem.
   I've had no experience at all with Samick's, except to tune a few, but
here's one thing you might consider. I once had Kawai KG-2C where someone
had spilled something on the keys. They had wiped them off but not gone
down and cleaned the keyframe. As a result, by the time I was called, the
*front* rail had warped up a bit in the middle 2/3's or so.
   At another tech's suggestion, I cut a small kerf in the top of the rail
in two or three places and, since it was still a little damp, left it out
of the piano overnight. The kerfs allowed the frame to return to its normal
position as it dried out. No more knocking.
   Maybe I was lucky, but I know that on our Bosendorfer grands, which have
no glide bolts, the factory cuts kerfs in several places on the top and the
bottom of the front rail to allow for expansion/contraction. I can't
remember if they also do that on the balance rail or not.
   John, I'm not *recommending* that you do this. How old is the piano? Is
it still under warranty? Any spills? I'm just giving you a little
information that worked for me. Maybe by me putting it on the list, someone
with more knowledge about that type of thing will either agree with me or
else blow me out of the water. :-)
   Good luck.

Avery