[pianotech] Twisted sticks

[Terry Farrell]

I'll second David's suggestions of heating the keystick and trying to twist it back into alignment. I'd get pretty aggressive with the heat. Got a heat gun? IMHO, a kettle with steam AND the heat gun at the same time might just do it. Let the heat do most of the work - you don't want to break the keystick in half. It may take a while to heat it thoroughly - just guessing, maybe at least ten or fifteen minutes, maybe a half hour or an hour. Give it a few minutes at first and somewhat gently try to rotate it back - just keep trying it while keeping the rotational force well below what might break the key. Good luck! Let us know if this works.

Terry Farrell

On Aug 10, 2012, at 3:41 AM, Rob McCall wrote:

> Greetings,
> 
> I finished a bit of work (mouse cleaning, pitch raise, tuning, fixing broken wheels, etc.) on this piano but this one key (C8) was sticking when pressed.  I checked all the usual culprits but nothing seemed to have any effect.  That's when I noticed that the key stick was twisted.  Not only twisted but the capstan end seems to be bent to the right further than all the other keysticks. I'm thinking it was a factory job because the last wippen is also skewed out to the side to match up with the bent keystick. The capstan even tilts at an angle while the key tilts the opposite way at the working end.
> 
> The ironic thing is that this was the 125th anniversary edition (1987) of the Baldwin Hamilton. I think it said something about celebrating decades of excellence and quality...  :-)
> 
> So.... Does anyone have any hints on how to make this work?  Any fix short of making a new key? It seems to be hanging up on the front rail pin because of the skewed angle.  Moving the key side to side exhibits about 1-2mm of play, and the balance rail has some play, but the twist seems to have the 2 pins working in the opposite direction from each other. Also, C8 barely misses scraping on B7.  See the 3rd picture down.
> 
> Here's some photos...  Thanks!
> 
> Regards,
> 
> Rob McCall
> 
> McCall Piano Service, LLC
> www.mccallpiano.com
> Murrieta, CA
> 951-698-1875
> 
> <IMG_2422.jpeg>
> 
> <IMG_2423.jpeg>
> 
> <IMG_2424.jpeg>
> 
> <IMG_2425.jpeg>
> 

-------------- next part --------------
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/20120810/63610a13/attachment.htm>