Hi James
I would sell them a pedal lyre rebuild, replacing all leathers and felts, Teflon bushings in the pedal box, etc, maybe polishing hardware, etc.
But here’s the part you’re asking about:
Tools: drill, drill bits, forstner bits, hole saw, dowel, saw, backrail cloth punched into circles and glue.
Accessories: Furniture pad or blanket, and/or vacuum; safety glasses
Disengage the damper pedal rod, and let down the damper arm (just let it hang).
Use hole saw of your choosing to drill a bigger hole for the pitman pass-through in the keybed.
Use the same size forstner bit as the backrail cloth circles you made and drill a hole in the bottom of the underlever tray and top of the damper arm to accept the new pitman. You will need to secure the tray somehow prior to drilling it.
I made an adjustable pitman to rough in the correct pitman length. (You can also mock it up with a hammershank.) Then I mark the dowel to the length I need, cut it, and glue the backrail cloth circles to each end.
Insert the new felted pitman in the slot you drilled into the tray. Re-engage all the damper pedal mechanisms and insert the bottom of the pitman in the new slot you drilled into the damper arm.
Good luck!
Let me know if you have any questions.
Elizabeth
Original Message------
I am trying to eliminate an annoying groan/creaking sound when the damper/sustain pedal is pressed to the bottom . the piano is a Steinway and Son O circa 1915 that was rebuilt.I removed the Pitman and cleaned off some signs of grease applied some graphite from a stick of graphite and burnished into the wood. the sound diminished but only for a short time, The pitman is not exactly tight in the bushing that goes through the keybed and in fact the bushing cloth is very compacted and loaded with grease . It seems that I should remove the old bushing and fit a new bushing of high quality bushing cloth and get a better snugger fit. I recall seeing a repair that can be made using a dowel with pins on each end to secure to the trap work and the lift tray . The keybed is fairly thick and it seems like it will be a lot of work yet possibly the best repair. I also thought some of the groaning was coming from the pins located at the ends of the lift tray that go into a wooden block.I took off one of the blocks and cleaned the gunk off the pins and used some protek spray lube . The coil spring on the left end of the tray was absent and that end of the tray has
a slight upward bow to it. putting a spring back in will make the pedal harder to play but will it also help reduce the groan/creak ? there is a need to have the pedal to play easier because two children play the piano and a heavy spring is hard to overcome. I am interested in hearing from others about doing a rebushing with the existing pitman or going with the thinner pitman, pins and larger keybed hole
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James Kelly
Pawleys Island SC
843-325-4357
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