In a message dated 12/28/00 8:24:12 AM Central Standard Time, yardbird@vermontel.net writes: << List, I have a piano teacher with a legitimate complaint about repetition on a 20 year-old Baldwin Studio Upright 243. The jack won't make it back under the butt until the key returns, and sometimes not even them. The butt and catcher leathers are also a synthetic which i would describe as 220 grit. My test for repetition is to use a finger of the LH as an up-stop, and to find at what point lowering that stop will prevent to jack's return The problem clears up when I lift the hammer rail for ~1mm lost motion at the keyboard, but I'm uncomfortable leaving in a lost motion of this size. I did remove the spring rail and bend all springs to that the butt had a minimum of return from the string (a bend going from 3pm to 5pm, as viewed from the bass). The repetition didn't appear to have gained, and now, the action is too slow in very quiet playing. So regardless of what positive effect weakening the hammer springs in relation to the jack spring might have, I'll have to backtrack from this to get a more positive return in quiet playing. I also changed one hammer butt for a brand new Baldwin butt with beautiful smooth buckskin, but once again it wasn't clear the the dramatic step down in friction with real butt leather helped out the jack's return. Starting over with a complete set of new butts is an option Any ideas on improving repetition in this piano? Bill Ballard, RPT NH Chapter PTG >> Bill I am wondering if perhaps the problem isn't with the hammer, the spring, or the jack, but with the keys. Do the keys move freely, and all the way back down to rest position, especially on a soft play? Easing the keys at all three points might solve your problem. Willem
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