>...I would think the strap would have to be adjusted somewhat tauter then >we do >today... or what.. ? >Richard Brekne More good stuff there, Richard. About the tauter thing: Just yesterday I went out on a service call for a note that was reported inoperative (studio size piano). The problem was the inability of a hammer to return due to a broken hammer butt spring, so it just rested itself against its related music wire. My first thought, of course, was, "Well, looks like I am going to have to replace that butt spring." No real big deal, really. But then I noticed all this excess play in the bridle strap. So for the fun of it and an obvious short cut, I modified (bent) the bridle wire back sufficiently to cause the strap to be "tauter", which then allowed the hammer to start its return back home when the key was released. Now, as a result of this thread, I'm thinking in the case of upright pianos in general, that another serious consideration for the bridle tape concept was to insure that the hammer actually returned far enough back past the point of perpendicular to its mounting, coupled with overcoming any center pin resistance, to enable the hammer return spring to then do its job of returning the hammer to its final destination. Final destination meaning, close enough so the jack lever tip will at least be able to engage the hammer to strike again. Ironically, that would then touch on the premise of aiding faster repetition, or more exactly as I see it, allowing the note, for all practical purposes, to be repeated at all. What fun! Keith McGavern Registered Piano Technician Oklahoma Chapter 731 Piano Technicians Guild USA
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