grand damper felt removal

[Thomas Cole]

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Soaking the old damper felts off is probably the least traumatic way to 
return the damper heads to the pre-glued state, assuming that the 
original glue is "soakable", of course. If the piano is in for a rebuild 
or a restringing, the water, surfactant and time do most of the work. 
I'm between soaking trays at the moment but I have in mind to build one 
out of thin plywood coated with epoxy.

Occasionally, there are situations in the field where you can't take the 
time that the soaking method requires. If I pick up the dampers today 
and reschedule for two weeks or so later to return and regulate, that is 
sometimes too long for the owner to be without a working piano.

In that case, I'll arrange to replace the dampers in one visit. If the 
customer has a shop or some area where I can set up and make a mess, I 
remove the dampers to a rack and take the rack to the work area. There, 
I can begin removing the old felt by clamping the first damper head 
upsidedown in a block vise. Most of the felt is taken off with pliers, 
knife, fingers - whatever way works the best. Then the rest comes off 
using a Dremel motor with a sanding drum. I'll put on a pair of 3.25 
diopter reading glasses so I can get my aging eyes closer to the work 
and, with a light touch, I'll get down just to the bare wood.

While the cleaned head is still in the vise, I'll glue on the new felt 
and place the finished damper head back in the rack to dry. Ready for 
the second damper.

Tom Cole

ps: Joe - could we have a picture or two of your "system"?

Joe Garrett wrote:

> I forgot to say that on regular olde grand dampers, I have "system", 
> if you will, that consists of a strip of "masonite" w/holes drilled 
> for the wires. This strip is about 3 1/2" wide and 72" long. On either 
> end of the strip are slots that will accomodate, (freely), 1/4x20 
> bolts. Out of old piano case parts, (I think they are old cheek 
> blocks. But, don't quote me on that. It's been many years since I 
> built this "thingamajig"!<G>) On top of the "blocks" is another piece 
> of wood, at right angles, that is a few inches beyond the vertical 
> block(s). This horizontal has a carriage bolt imbedded in it, w/the 
> threads protruding upward. The "strip" slot goes over the bolt and is 
> adjustable with wing nuts, to accomodate the varying widths of grands. 
> The "blocks were sawn, so that there is an angle left out and a 
> "ledge" that sits on the rim of the piano. Another, (longer), 1/4x20 
> bolt w/wing nut is anchored in the outside piece and travels through, 
> (freely), the inner piece, which is hinged with olde piano hinges. 
> This whole thingamajig clamps on to the sides of the piano. This puts 
> the "strip" above the strings, etc. about 6"-8". Once in place, I have 
> a way to keep the heads in order. Once all the dampers have be removed 
> from the piano and placed in the Thingamajig, I remove it from the 
> piano and move it to a work bench. There I have two short 2x4's that I 
> clamp to the Thingamajig, which are then clamped to the work bench 
> top. I bend the "strip" in an upward "crown" to keep the wires off of 
> the bench top.
> The first thing I do to these dampers, is stamp the number on the 
> side, of each one, w/machinists number stamps. That way, if, in the 
> frenzy of taking off the felt, sanding, finishing, etc., the order is 
> out of whack, I'm able to put them back in the proper order.
> The next thing is removing the felt. I have two water color dual cups 
> that are intended to clip on an artist's pallet board. These will clip 
> onto the 1/4" thin Masonite and can be slid along either edge, as I 
> progress in the soaking off of the felt. I use Wallpaper remover. (It 
> works faster if it is heated.<G>) Two heads at a time will fit nicely 
> into the cups. While each pair is soaking, I attend to other things in 
> the shop. About every 20 minutes, I remove the felt, squeeze the 
> excess Wall Paper Remover back into the cups & use the olde damper 
> felt to "scrub" the heads nice and clean. Then throw away the olde 
> felt and continue on with the system. Occasionally, some minor 
> scraping will be needed to pry off some really tenacious glue, but for 
> the most part this is a low effort thing.
> Once all the felt is removed, I let the heads dry for a day or so. 
> (the wood does get really saturated in this process)
> Oh, one thing that I should stress: Take all the measurements of the 
> original felt; select the appropriate replacement felt making note of 
> any deviations, from the original damper configuration, you may wish 
> to do. Do this BEFORE you start the removal process! DAMHIK!
> Once the dampers are "like new", and you've done all of the other Back 
> Action renovating, the whole Thingamajig is put back on the piano, 
> ready for arduous task of installing/regulating, etc.
> Because there is quite a bit of time between removing the dampers and 
> putting them back in, I like to "seal" the renovated dampers, on the 
> Thingamajig, with seran wrap/tape. This keeps them pristine until needed.
> I hope this will give a few of you some ideas in how to deal with all 
> of those danged dampers!<G>
> Best Regards,
> Joe Garrett, R.P.T.
> Captain, Tool Police
> Squares R I


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