repinning a Baldwin Hamilton

[Barbara Richmond]

Gosh, John, thanks for the detail.  

So, do you have little marked bottles of solution all lined up in a row?  Duh, I hadn't thought of the different solutions...I usually just go for repinning because I know what my results are going to be and I have a pretty good idea of how long it will take.  But it would make sense, I guess, to give the water/alcohol sizing another try.  I haven't worked on many pianos where sizing was an option.

The key bushings I checked seemed OK, but I had thought of using VS Profelt to see how "perfect" the sizing could get with that method and compare it to my usual ironing-in Teflon procedure.  Thanks for mentioning the half-punching trick.  I've used it several times on grands, but never on an upright.  I'll keep that in mind if it still feels heavy.

Best,

Barbara Richmond, RPT
still a learner, too, near Peoria, Illinois




----- Original Message ----- 
  From: John Formsma 
  To: Pianotech List 
  Sent: Friday, October 03, 2008 10:46 AM
  Subject: Re: repinning a Baldwin Hamilton


  Barbara,


  I recently did this very job on a 1997 Hamilton (or 243?). This one had issues with sluggishness for several years. I finally gave them the only solution that would ultimately work: complete action disassembly, checking and correcting friction on each hammer, whippen, and jack center; sanding whippen felts; applying Teflon powder to hammer butts, etc.; and regulation.  I would have preferred a less costly solution for them, but it was the only way I could actually solve the problem.


  Mine responded well to water/alcohol sizing.  I disassembled every action part except for damper flanges, which were fine.  Checked friction, and applied either 10%, 25%, 35%, or 50% solution depending on the friction there. Some repinning was needed as well, mainly because the sizing solution worked too well on a few. (Or, that I was too aggressive due to my lack of experience in choosing which % solution to use.)



  During regulation, it became apparent that the balance rail bushings needed replacement.  Cupped bushings were causing significant repetition problems. I used VS Profelt and cauls on the front rail bushings to renew the felt there, which worked very well.


  After regulation, it still has some problems with key weighting.  But it plays much better than before -- just a heavier touch than I like. I'm waiting to make sure the work is satisfactory - I told the church to play it for 2-3 weeks to make SURE everything was to their satisfaction.  I should know by next week if everything is good.


  I suppose I can always trim the balance rail felts (toward the player) to help slightly with the heavy touch.


  In all, I worked several more hours that I'd originally estimated.  However, I still feel like a learner in this realm, so it was great experience.  And I was paid well for "learning." Gotta love that!


  Hope this helps.


  -- 
  JF
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