Bluthner Patent Action

[Gregor _]

well done, John. I must admit that I did not read the English version from the Blüthner Homepage. But the German version is straight to the point and every German with a certificate of apprenticeship as Klavierbauer should immediately know what is meant. On the other hand: there are some words I never heard of before. E.g. Abstrakt or Abstrakte. That´s usually referred to as "that tiny thingee in Blüthners" :-)

2 notes to your translation:


3. The hammer must let off 1.5 mm from the
steel strings and half the thickness of a bass string from the wound strings.
7. It is now necessary to check the
regulation of the touch again.

Gregor





Date: Thu, 25 Sep 2008 22:04:42 +0100


To: pianotech at ptg.org
From: JD at Pianomaker.co.uk
Subject: Re: Bluthner Patent Action




Re: Bluthner Patent Action
At 18:31 +0200 25/9/08, Gregor _ wrote:


here is the German version:
http://www.bluethner.de/indexfr.htm  




I have translated this below, taking the
liberty of making the English slightly more clear and exact than the
German.


Now regulation is one thing, but in my
experience there are questions of repair that must first be carefully
considered, and if the repairs are not properly done it will be very
difficult to get the piano behaving as it should.


1. Regarding the hammers : Blüthner
hammers are unlike any other grand hammer.  The way the mouldings
are cut up is very special so that the tail meets the check at 180
degrees without any tailing as on, for example a Steinway hammer. 
The tails are shaped, as hinted at below, in such a way as to require
a certain check angle. The top of the mouldings is not pointed but
rounded.  Most important is the weight of the hammer, since the
whole action is dependent on a certain hammer weight.  Though I
have fitted new hammer-heads to Blüthner in the past, I would now
never do so but always have the original hammers re-covered. 
Abel's price for doing this is a little more than for normal
hammers.


2.  The two bushed sides of the
Blüthner flange are far wider than on a Herz action.  There is a
good reason for this, and that is that for the action to behave
properly the hammer must be centred very free, so free that if the
flanges were of the normal width the hammers would wobble.  If
the hammers are centred as one would centre Herz action hammer, it
will be impossible to get things happening as they
should.


3.  Great care is needed when removing
and replacing the L-spring in the felt clip.  This is made of a
hard blue felt and it is easy to make a mess of this if the spring is
not carefully eased in and out at the right point.


4.  Although geometry is hardly an
issue with the patent action as it is with the Herz action, it is
always good to have an exact drawing of the action and not some
miniature rough likeness.  For example Jurgen's drawing is
incorrect in several respects, most importantly in the depiction of
the hammer rest.  The Blüthner rest is not just a strip of
baize but several layers of loose flannel wrapped over with a thin
green baize or flannel cloth.  It needs to be like this for
silence's sake, since the hammers have only this to cushion their
return.


5.  The L-spring is NOT the equivalent
of the repetition spring on a Herz action and the action is not
supposed to behave like a Herz action.  Any adjustment of the
L-spring alters the effective weight of the hammer and thus of the
touch.  The purpose of the spring is to provide the inertia to
allow the jack to return under the notch.


etc. etc. -- anyway here's my rendering of
the German instructions:













Die erforderlichen Arbeiten sind in der
nachstehenden Reihenfolge durchzuführen. Der Aufbau der
Blüthner-Mechanik beruht auf einer Spieltiefe von 9,4 mm und einer
Steighöhe von 45 mm.


The required tasks are to be carried out in
the following order.  The set-up of the Blüthner action is
based on a touch depth of 9.4 mm. and a blow of 45 mm.


1. Die Schrauben der Hammerkapseln (1) sind fest
anzuziehen. Die Hammer müssen genau auf die Chore gerichtet
werden.


1. The hammer flanges must be tightly
screwed down.  The hammers must be precisely aligned to the
strings.


2. Unterstellen
Durch die auf die Taste aufgeschraubte
Brücke (2) ist die Stoßzunge (3) so zu regulieren, dass sie ganz
leicht unter die Nase der Abstrakten (4) fällt. Gleichzeitig muß
der Hammerstiel (5) auf der Polsterleiste aufliegen. Der
Balancierstift (7) im Abstrakt muß gerade und senkrecht
stehen.


2. Regulating the Carriage
The key carriage must be so regulated that
the jack easily returns under the notch of the abstract when the
hammer is at rest on the hammer-rest cushion.  The guide pin at
the bottom of the abstract must be straight and vertical.





3. Auslösen
Der Hammer muß 1,5 mm vor der Stahlsaite
und eine halbe Saitenstärke vor den Basssaiten auslösen. Die
Schrauben für die Auslösung (8) befinden sich an der
Hammer-Polsterleiste.


3. Set-off
The hammer must set off 1.5 mm. from the
strings or half the thickness of the (bass) string, whichever is
greater.  The set-off screws are located on a rail screwed at a
right angle to the hammer-rest rail.


4. Druck
Im Gegensatz zur Erard-Mechanik ist bei der
Blüthner-Mechanik der Druck fester zu machen (kein Nachdruck). Die
Taste wird langsam bis auf das Druckfleckdien gedrückt, und dann muß
der Hammer noch 1 mm steigen, bis er auslöst, so daß er nur bei
mittelmäßigem Anschlag fängt.


4. The Touch
The touch of the Blüthner action is firm
in comparison with the Herz-Erard action, with no after-touch. 
The key should be pressed slowly until it comes to contact with the
touch washer, and then the hammer should rise a further 1 millimetre
before setting off, so that it only falls into check under a moderate
blow.


5. Fänger
Die Fänger werden etwas schräger
gestellt als bei der Erard-Mechanik. Die Fanghöhe ist 24 mm über
der Hammerlinie.


5. The Checks
The checks are bent forward at a somewhat
greater angle than in the Herz-Erard action.  The hammers should
check 24 millimetres above their rest position.


6. Abnicken
Die Winkelfeder (9), die das Abnicken
bewirkt, muß im Diskant 0,85 mm, in der Mittellage 0,95 mm, im Bass
1 mm Stärke aufweisen. Der Balancierstift vom Abstrakt muß sich
leicht durch das Leder auf der Brücke bewegen. Die Winkelfeder muß
sich frei in der Polsterung bewegen. Durch entsprechenden Druck auf
das Ende der Winkelfeder nach oben oder unten wird das Abnicken
reguliert. Der Hammer soll bis auf 3 mm Entfernung von der Saite
abnicken bzw. zurückfallen.


6.  The Drop

The steel L-spring responsible for the repetition must be 0.85 mm.
thick in the treble, 0.95 mm. in the middle range and 1 mm. in the
bass.  The guide pin must move smoothly in the hole in the
elkskin pad on the carriage.  The L-spring must move freely in
the blue felt clip in the abstract.  The drop is regulated by
pressing the end of the spring up or down.  The hammer should
drop, or fall,  to 3 mm. below the strings


7. Es ist nun erforderlich, den Druck
nochmals zu kontrollieren.


7. It is now necessary to check the
regulation of the touch.


8. Die Dämpfung muß bei halbem Gang
angreifen.


8. The dampers must begin to rise at half
blow.


9. Die Pralleiste für die Dämpfung muß
so eingestellt werden, daß bei heruntergedrückter schwarzer Taste
der Dämpfer ganz wenig Luft hat.


9. The damper stop rail must be so adjusted
that the felts at the end of the sharp keys almost touch the damper
bodies when the dampers are raised.


10. Die gebogene Feder (10), die am
Abstrakt befestigt ist, darf in der Ruhelage der Taste nicht auf der
Stoßzunge liegen. Die Entfernung beträgt normal etwa 3 mm vom
Stösser. Auf ein gleichmäßiges Regulieren ist besonderer Wert zu
legen.
    
10. The button on the end of the curved
spring attached to the abstract should not rest on the angled face of
the  jack when the key is at rest; there should be a gap of about
3 mm.  It is most important to regulate everything
evenly.
       



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