The spoons ARE the underlevers. Unless they've been seriously modified, a consistent spoon level should produce a consistent sostenuto tab height, or close enough to be able to refine with paper shimming. Any method employing a jig keyed to samples pre-supposes that parts are consistent: lifter felts, damper tray felt, tabs, etc. My instinct would be to use Allen's approach (again, if spoons are un-distorted), and then use capstans (if there) to refine sustain (tempo) pedal lift. This is not what the Kawai Shigeru manual advises, though the last steps leave me baffled, as it would seem to alter the damper timing with the key in order to have consistent lift with pedal.
Initial Damper liftAdjust pedal rod head to set the sample damper
levers so that they start moving when the hammer
is 23mm (1/2 blow distance) from string.
Tighten damper wire screws for sample damper
levers in each section.
Reinstall the action and check the damper lift.
Once the samples are set, tighten all damper wire
screws, then remove paper punching and correct
the damper head alignment
Damper lift with PedalOnce dampers are tightened and aligned, recheck
the dampers for even lift with the damper pedal.
To adjust, loosen the screw in the damper
top flange and move the lever up or down.
*Do not use the capstan screws for this adjustment
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David Skolnik
Hastings-on-Hudson NY
914-231-7565
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Original Message:
Sent: 11-22-2017 13:38
From: Jon Page
Subject: Addition to Spurlock Damper Underlever Jig - A Tuesday Tech Tip
I thought you were supposed adjust the height of the underlevers uniformly and then adjust the spoon. I have a jig that sets the underlevers evenly and then tweak the spoons across the compass and then individually as needed, especially for the dampers at the bass/tenor break.
The u/l's need to be uniform for the sostenuto to function without problems.
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Regards,
Jon Page
Original Message:
Sent: 11-21-2017 09:53
From: Allan Gilreath
Subject: Addition to Spurlock Damper Underlever Jig - A Tuesday Tech Tip
Good morning techs,
Retiming dampers is something that we do on a very regular basis. Our tool of choice is the Spurlock Damper Underlever Jig (either the production version or my homebrew that I built on Bill's designs but before he started manufacturing them.) On some pianos, particularly some with damper spoons, the correct position of the damper underlever is higher than the jig will adjust.
To accommodate these instruments, we've tried setting the jig on various props to get it up to the right height. We also played with longer screws to replace the feet but that is both slow to change and puts a lot of wear on the threads in the rail. After thinking about it a little further, we came up with an idea that is simple, cheap, effective, repeatable, and accurate: a piece 3/4" square tubing that is then clipped to the aluminum regulating shelf with small binder clips or drilled and tapped to be held to the regulating shelf by two 8-32 cap screws.
Here we have the tool without the extension:
The tool and the extension laid out on a keybed:
The tool and extension in place under the underlever spoons:
Have fun with this one and have a Great Thanksgiving!
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Allan Gilreath, RPT
Registered Piano Technician & President
Allan Gilreath & Associates, Inc
Calhoun, GA
706-602-7667
allan@allangilreath.com - www.allangilreath.com
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