Weights on the keys

[Ron Nossaman]

>Ron,
>I agree with you that Dampp-Chaser won't likely work here, but the problem as
>stated doesn't involve the keys, so I fail to see how your suggestion of 
>weighting
>the keys will help at all.
>
>But it does give me opportunity to ask you and the list something that's been
>going on in my mind for a number of years.  I have steadfastly refused to use
>Jiffy leads because I assumed that, if the piano worked correctly when it 
>was new,
>adding lead weights to the keys is sub-standard piano service, a way to get 
>around
>doing the repair correctly.  Am I right or wrong?  I'm willing to give them a
>second look.
>
>Regards,
>Clyde

Hi Clyde,
Sorry, wasn't too well said, was it? You're right that the weights won't do
anything for the hammer flanges, but after they are lubricated or
alcohol/water shrunk (I wouldn't re pin except as a last resort) all the
flange centers (hammer, jack and wip), the other weirdnesses become
noticeable. What I've found on the old Wurlitzer consoles and spinets is
big fan angles in the key doglegs, and key ratios leaving a lot of front
weight on the keys. After the years of use, the key bushings wear and the
wippen weight is no longer enough to lever the key back up out of the
groove in that outside bushing (the inside ones last forever, because the
balance rail pin hardly ever touches them). Your choices for restoring
function are either rebushing, or backweighting, since you can't do much
about the design layout. Reasonably, rebushing would be a better option
because adding backweight will put more pressure on that outside bushing
and accelerate bushing wear even more. Giving the owners of Wurlitzer
consoles and spinets an explanation of the problems, and the options of
replacing the piano, spending $$$$ on repinning, or $ on lubrication, and
$$$$ on rebushing keys, or $$ on keyweights if necessary after lubrication,
I have yet to find one that wanted anything other than the minimum
expenditure to "make it work". Obviously, the back weighting isn't
considered if the lubrication, shrinking, or whatever works well enough,
and it's certainly not technically the best approach. It's a means of
getting the customer playing again at minimal cost and they will probably
get another fifteen years of use out of the piano playing on the mortise.
They'll also comment on how "Easy" it is to play now.

It's not an ideal fix, but it's expedient, relatively cheap, and a way out
when you don't have a way around the design limitations anyway. I've put in
maybe five sets in over twenty years, so it's not an habitual first choice.
It's yet another one of those unfortunate choices between what's right,
what's possible, and what's affordable.

I hope that's a better explanation.

Ron N