I would still always use the piano for key leveling Terry, it is just saver and doesn't require double work. btw.. I was in Florida in September, but Storm Gabriella changed my entire direction (in case you were wondering about 'why & what'. friendly greetings from Antares, Amsterdam, Holland "where music is, no harm can be" visit my website at : http://www.concertpianoservice.nl/ > From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com> > Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org > Date: Sun, 18 Nov 2001 11:00:56 -0500 > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Subject: Re: key leveling -- crown? > > I've been doing all my key leveling on the bench also Carl - but with mixed > results. I thinks most of it depends on how flat the keybed is. But now I've > got a 1970s G.Steck Aeolian grand keyboard on my bench that I am regulating > & key leveling. > > I bedded the keybed real good in piano before bringing to shop. Re-check > bedding on regulating table - pretty good - presumably piano must have flat > keybed (my regulating table is dead-on-flat). Remove stack, remove black > keys. Hmmmmmmm, bedding not so good now, seems center rail has risen up a > bit - reset glide bolts. Set my two end keys at 2-1/2 inch height, level > white keys. Remove all white keys except for couple on end and several here > and there to observe white key/black key height relationship, install all > black keys. Put level stick on WHITE keys and Wowha - all white keys are now > low - like in the 0.025" range. Check center rail - center rail is a tad off > regulating table. OK, so apparently the center rail flexes up and down, and > removing the white keys allows the center rail to go up a tad. But why then > would the white keys go down - they should go up. > > But that is not the point. The point is clearly leveling keys is best in > piano - but I just love the bench. What about a dummy fake stack thingee > that you can place varying amounts of weight on to simulate the fully loaded > keybed. This would at least eliminate the problem of any keyframe flexing on > the bench. You would still have potential trouble with warped keybeds, but > this might help. Wadddayathink???? > > Terry Farrell > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Carl Meyer" <cmpiano@home.com> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2001 4:45 PM > Subject: Re: key leveling -- crown? > > > > ----- Original Message ----- > From: "Isaac OLEG SIMANOT" <oleg-i@wanadoo.fr> > To: <pianotech@ptg.org> > Sent: Saturday, November 17, 2001 11:35 AM > Subject: RE: key leveling -- crown? > > >> Not only Steinway consider good new keyboard leveling will show a little >> arch in the middle. >> Klaus Schimmel does too, so Seiler, so other German makers, and their key >> bed is not arched. >> > > Thanks Isaac, I didn't know that. Glad to hear that me and > Steinway aren't the only dumb Germans around. > > So how is it that those who arch their key level and not the bed compensate > for the shorter penetration of the key pin into the mortise? Do they arch > the height of the key pins or make the key thicker? > > > >> In fact on Steinway we may use and arched rule because of the arched > keyed >> only, they don't pretend it is for the future wear of the balance > bushings, >> that is other makes that pretend (?) that. >> And may be is it only for visual effect ! > > If you use an arched rule to level the keys on a flat bench, you will have a > double arch when you put the action back in the piano. A Steinway rep told > me "you can't level the keys outside the piano, It's not accurate enough." > Well, DUHHH! > > Unless it's just a touch up, I always level keys on the bench. That's the > only efficient way to do it. I remove the stack, clamp the frame to the > bench, and use weights on the back checks. Of course touch up may be > required after the stack is reinstalled and the action put back in the > piano. > > I try my best to simplify my life but it seems there are those that keep > wanting to complicate it. Oh, Well!! > > Regards > > Carl Meyer Assoc. PTG > Santa Clara, California > cmpiano@home.com > > > >> Regards. >> >> Isaac OLEG >> >>> -----Message d'origine----- >>> De : owner-pianotech@ptg.org [mailto:owner-pianotech@ptg.org]De la part >>> de Carl Meyer >>> Envoyé : vendredi 16 novembre 2001 21:07 >>> À : pianotech@ptg.org >>> Objet : Re: key levelling -- crown? >>> >>> >>> >>> Yes, Dick , it was Steinway that did that. However it was done >>> to make the >>> key level line follow the crown in the keybed, which was put in to > ensure >>> full contact (spring loaded) of the action frame to the bed. >>> >>> Had it been to compensate for felt compression, wouldn't it be > appropriate >>> to have a schedule of releveling according to age or mileage? Maybe > 1/16 >>> initially, then after 50000 songs we relevel to 1/32. Then after > another >>> 50000 songs to1/64? Now, if the key frame is refelted we must start the >>> schedule all over again. Damm!!! nobody told me that they'd refelted > this >>> keybed!! >>> >>> I've been trying to kill this legend for several years now. It's hard >>> because at first glance it seems so "impressive" so "logical" so >>> "sophisticated" and it was of course Steinway that did it. Was it > really >>> necessary to crown both the bed and the key frame or would it have been >>> sufficient to but more crown in the key frame? Does Steinway >>> have a patent >>> on that? I doubt it. Does any other company use that technique? I > don't >>> know of any. >>> >>> If you haven't guessed yet, I think crowning the key bed is a >>> dumb idea. It >>> was a complicated, expensive, confusing and just silly solution to a non >>> existent problem. >>> >>> Maybe they would rather we say bad things about them than to say >>> good things >>> about some other brand. Politicians always say "Say anything you >>> want about >>> me, just don't misspell my name". >>> >>> Regards >>> >>> Carl Meyer Assoc. PTG >>> Santa Clara, California >>> cmpiano@home.com >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> >>> ----- Original Message ----- >>> From: "Dick Beaton" <rbeaton@initco.net> >>> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> >>> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 11:17 AM >>> Subject: Re: key levelling -- crown? >>> >>> >>>> All... >>>> I recall the reason for doing this is that the middle of the piano > gets >>>> played more than the ends. In time it will even itself out as the felt >>>> center rail punchings flatten out more. As I recall, it was >>> Steinway that >>>> did this. >>>> Dick RPT MT >>>> >>>> ----- Original Message ----- >>>> From: Charles Neuman <piano@charlesneuman.net> >>>> To: <pianotech@ptg.org> >>>> Sent: Thursday, November 15, 2001 9:00 AM >>>> Subject: key levelling -- crown? >>>> >>>> >>>> >>> >>> >> > > >
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