Damper Felt

[Jon Page]

At 06:48 AM 5/14/2002 -0500, you wrote:
>List
>I was called to tune a grand and fix "a ringing noise."  The piano turned
>out to be a Chickering Quarter Grand, and the "ringing noise" came from the
>dampers from the break on up, misaligned with the strings as if someone
>tried to clean them or moved them inadvertantly. Now the tricord wedges are
>distorted and will not sit correctly on the strings.  Does anyone have a
>trick for straightening crooked wedge dampers without removing them?  These
>are threaded damper wires and removal will be a challenge. Clearance is a
>real problem, but I'll take them off if I have to. Oh, by the way, they're
>using the piano for a wedding this Saturday.  Any ideas?
>
>Thanks.
>
>Paul Chick

If you raise the damper stop rail, the dampers can be lifted so the head 
can be turned with the felt up.
You can realign the felt with needle-nosed pliers and trim as needed.  Try 
a few to see if it'll be sufficient.

With the damper head turned this way you can also screw it into the 
underlever a bit if you need to time
the damper lift later, or up as the case may be.

Don't just sit there...get busy.

Regards,

Jon Page,   piano technician
Harwich Port, Cape Cod, Mass.
mailto:jonpage@attbi.com
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