Lost Motion and Touchweight

[Farrell]

One thing I have not seen mentioned on this thread. You might want to take your gram weight set, push down the damper pedal, and see exactly what the touchweight is. If it is high, then look for a cause. If it is not high, perhaps educating the piano owner is in order.

Incidentally, does anyone have a range of touchweight parameters that is "normal" when the dampers are being lifted by the key? In case that question is not clear - if the damper pedal is not pressed down, the dampers will be lifted by the key. That will add to downweight. How much additional downweight attributable to the damper raising (obviously only during the last half of key movement) is "normal" or appropriate? 

Hey cool, I guess we can measure friction in the damper system also - by measuring key only up and downweight first, and then damper up and downweight. Never really thought about doing that.

Terry Farrell
  
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Patrick C Poulson" <pcpoulso@pacbell.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Tuesday, September 03, 2002 8:03 PM
Subject: Lost Motion and Touchweight


> Hello all: I got a call today from a customer whose Knabe console I serviced
> at the end of July. She complained that something I did has made the piano
> have a very heavy touch, not only to her but to her husband, and she wants
> it put back to its former condition. I looked up my record on the piano and
> saw that aside from tuning it I adjusted the lost motion.  I have never had
> anyone complain about the piano having a heavy touch after having the lost
> motion adjusted. My experience has been that the piano plays better, and
> previous tuners may have been ignoring the need for the lost motion to be
> taken up.  She says that she has had it maintained by well respected
> technicians where ever she has lived, the last one being the technician for
> a Steinway dealer. She has moved out of his service area, which is why she
> called me.  I am at loss to figure out how taking up the lost motion could
> make a piano have an uncomfortable heavy touch.  My guess is that she had
> grown accustomed to playing an out of adjustment action, and that a properly
> adjusted action with a firm touch feels "heavy" to her.  I have an
> appointment tomorrow morning to check the piano over and do what is
> appropriate to satisfy her, but I'm scratching my head as to how to put the
> piano back out of adjustment in order to satisfy her. Has anyone run into a
> similiar situation?  My notes do not mention any sluggishness or tightness
> in the flanges, and she says she noticed this change in the touch
> immediately.
> Thanks, Patrick Poulson, RPT
>