Key Height

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Terry,
Even though the distance might be slight, if there is a dimple in the felt
cushion,
moving the capstan slightly will make a rather significant reduction in
friction at the start of the key movement. Sort of not having to climb out
of a hole.
I have not forgotten the part that we talked about, still using it to make
others.
Joe Goss
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Farrell" <mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2002 8:28 AM
Subject: Re: Key Height


> Arrrggg! Yes, of course the capstan would rotate backwards as the key goes
up, but how much did she raise the key height at the center pin?
>
> HEY Z! How much DID you raise the keys?
>
> Let's say you put a 0.050" punching under all the keys at the center rail.
That would raise the key fronts about maybe 0.120" - a good 1/8". That's a
fair bit of a raise. How far would the capstan tops rotate back? Hmmmmm. I
calculate............exactly................not much! It just couldn't be
more than 0.005". And then don't forget the capstan top actually rotates, so
the point of contact on the capstan top moves forward as the capstan body
rotates backwards - thus lessening the effect.
>
> But maybe it is enough? One of the classes I will be taking in Chicago is
Jack Wyatt's upright action class. From the PTG web site:
>
> (A) "Upright Touch" on the Up & Up
> Jack Wyatt, RPT, Dallas, TX Chapter
> In upright regulation there are always the fundamentals and then there are
the "others". The trick is not to violate the fundamentals and use the
"others" to achieve the touch that you want. This can be done in several
ways. Your duty is to select the correct combination. This is an exercise in
giving a little here and taking a little there. Learn the seven points that
make the difference. It is a practical approach to an end result. This class
is designed for experienced technicians.
>
> I'll be very interested in watching this thread unfold.
>
> Terry Farrell
>
> ----- Original Message -----
> From: "Joe And Penny Goss" <imatunr@srvinet.com>
> To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
> Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2002 9:42 AM
> Subject: Re: Key Height
>
>
> Zi,
> By raising the key height you also moved the capstan back under or in this
case to a more favorable position under the wippen cushion.
> Don't just try this on all actions as the geometry might not be the same
the next time. <G>
> Joe Goss
> imatunr@srvinet.com
> www.mothergoosetools.com
>   ----- Original Message -----
>   From: Z! Reinhardt
>   To: Pianotech
>   Sent: Sunday, May 05, 2002 6:51 AM
>   Subject: Key Height
>
>
>   How DOES one go about teaching how to establish proper key height in an
upright?  I've heard discussions about parameters as determined by case
parts, balance pin height, and so on, that doesn't really home in on the
optimum key height.
>
>   Recently I came to a fairly new delivery where the customer complained
that she couldn't get sufficient repetition.  Two other technicians before
me had tinkered with the action enough to get sufficient aftertouch, but the
piano played with all of the grace of a heavy truck.  Both technicians had
confessed to the customer that they were not pianists, and had done as much
as they could according to the manufacturer specs.
>
>   Now I'm hardly a pianist myself, but my first sense was that the keys
were sitting too low.  OK, raised the key-height, and regulated the action
accordingly, including adjusting the key depth.  Got a nice aftertouch
equation and turned the customer loose on playing it.  She reported that the
action now flies.
>
>   What have I done?  Both technicians and the dealer all want to know.  I
told them what I could, but realized that I had no real way of explaining
how to determine what the optimum key height should be for any particular
upright piano.  The original key height was well within the parameters
mentioned above when I first came to the piano, but I knew it could be
greatly improved ......
>
>   Any ideas out there?  Thanks!
>   Z! Reinhardt  RPT
>   Ann Arbor  MI
>   diskladame@provide.net
>
>