replacing upright liftrod hanger

[Ron Nossaman]

>So, what is the best way to replace a liftrod hanger hook or whatever
>it's called?  I have an appropriate length of the right gauge metal
>stock (.125) to make a new hook. 

Best way. Who knows? I haven't tried every possible way yet, but here's
what I've gotten away with pretty dependably so far. Buy new hangers from a
supply house (0.135"). They're already the right length, and knurled on one
end. Drive out old hanger. Test fit of new hanger in hole. Adjust hole as
necessary if too small. Drive in new hanger. Bend end over with pliers.
Reinstall bar. If you don't trust your hanger bending eyeball approximator,
grip one of the existing hangers with a pair of tapered jaw pliers deep
enough that the jaw is wedged between the bend and the lifter rod. Mark the
resulting depth position on the plier. Grip the new (already hammered in)
hanger with the pliers to the indicated depth, pressed against the lifter
rod. Hammer the bend in the hanger using the plier jaws as a height gauge.
Straighten hanger up as necessary. Reinstall bar.



>A second question, just as a matter of curiosity -- this is the third
>piano I've found with some sort of modification to the sustain
>mechanism.  A piece of bent strap metal about 5 1/2" long is bolted into
>the hole of the liftrod tongue and extends vertically downward.  The
>wood dowel has been shortened so its pin will fit in a hole at the
>bottom end of the strap metal.  The first time I saw this I assumed some
>piano technician was trying to solve some problem unknown to me, but now
>I've come across this about three times, and I think they were always in
>Kimball consoles.  Did they do this in the factory, and if so, why??
>
>Regards,
>Clyde

Maybe a carload of pre-cut pedal dowels shrunk during the Mezzo
Thermonealization treatment, and they worked around it? Or maybe they
thought it made the piano look taller? How about, can the action be pulled
past the rod without taking it out if it were full length? Is this a trick
question?

Ron N