Pianotech

  • 1.  Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-16-2021 10:39

    I just encountered my first in a long time Walters console... around 25 years old, in overall good condition.  Apart from pitch raise/tune (done) and thorough regulation (not yet), the excessive strength of the damper springs was disturbing.  I'm wondering if this is a trait typical to these pianos and whether anyone has, in the process of weakening springs, has found the damping to suffer. 

    Thanks –

     

    David Skolnik, RPT

    Hastings on Hudson, NY



  • 2.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-16-2021 10:59
    I don't have experience with this problem with Walter's pianos, but on many Chinese models the springs are very strong and cause bobbling hammers. I often weaken the springs on these, though it does require some care not to weaken them too much. I use the Hart spring tool for this. The dampers seem to work fine afterwards unless you go too far.
    Paul McCloud
    San Diego


    David Skolnik

    I just encountered my first in a long time Walters console... around 25 years old, in overall good condition. Apart from pitch raise/tune (done) and thorough regulation (not yet), the excessive strength of the damper springs was disturbing. I'm wondering if this is a trait typical to these pianos and whether anyone has, in the process of weakening springs, has found the damping to suffer.

    Thanks –



    David Skolnik, RPT

    Hastings on Hudson, NY


    Original Message


  • 3.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Posted 04-17-2021 06:19
    Paul M wrote: "... (damper) springs are very strong and cause bobbling hammers."

    I'm trying to understand how strong damper springs would cause bobbling hammers. Would it be because the spring is so strong that it tends to prevent the key from being fully depressed?

    ------------------------------
    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 4.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-17-2021 09:44
    Hi Terry:
    If you play the note firmly, there's no problem. But anything less will start the hammers bobbling. The reason is that when the spoon starts lifting the damper, the strong spring slows down the keystroke. The backcheck isn't where it's supposed to be to meet the catcher by the time the hammer has hit the string. The strong spring doesn't prevent the key from being depressed, it just requires more force than necessary or what normal players are used to. It took me quite a while to figure this out. The store where I worked sold a lot of these import pianos, and it was so common that I had to find out how to fix them. Some folks didn't notice, but others did and I was on the spot to figure it out.
    Paul McCloud
    San Diego


    Terrence Farrell:

    Paul M wrote: "... (damper) springs are very strong and cause bobbling hammers."

    I'm trying to understand how strong damper springs would cause bobbling hammers. Would it be because the spring is so strong that it tends to prevent the key from being fully depressed?

    ------------------------------
    Terry Farrell
    Farrell Piano Service, Inc.
    Brandon, Florida
    terry@farrellpiano.com
    813-684-3505



    Original Message


  • 5.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-16-2021 11:31

    David,

    As Paul said, it is easy to loosen the spring too much – a process that is mostly a guessing game. There is an alternate process to alleviate the problem with heavy touch and bobbling hammers, although it is more time consuming. You can change the rate of lift to reduce the sudden application of spring friction. By bending the damper spoon (just the spoon portion, not necessarily the shank – but maybe the shank too) back to create a more rounded attack on the damper lever, you will mitigate the sudden force of the damper spring on the whippen and subsequently the heavy key touch. This process may require the spoon adjustment to lift sooner but not as rapid, hence a longer lift time. This process may also include reducing the spring tension, but not as much. Needless to say, this will take time, but you reduce the possibly that loosening the spring too much will affect the dampening quality.



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    Roger Gable
    Gable Piano
    Everett WA
    425-252-5000
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    Original Message


  • 6.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-16-2021 12:50
    Thanks Paul, Roger,
    Roger, while the concept makes sense (it took a while), I suspect that the spring strength reduction (as part of regulation) would be my first go.  I might use either touch weight or a tension resistance gauge (Neuses) to try to get some consistency, once I determined where the damping started getting unhapppy.  I understand the basic concept.  I wondered if others had found these (Walter) to be consistently stiff in this regard.
    Thanks again.

    ------------------------------
    David Skolnik [RPT]
    Hastings-on-Hudson NY
    917-589-2625
    ------------------------------

    Original Message


  • 7.  RE: Charles Walter consol damper springs question

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 04-17-2021 12:10
    David,
    I’ll have to pay closer attention the next time I’m at a Walter console I know. I learned of a upright damper spring procedure from Don Maninno. Perhaps it was a tip in the Journal years ago-?
    Once you determine a spring strength that works and feels good, put the action in a cradle, and tilt it so the damper felt will support a key weight, and adjust the springs to just support this weight. In my case (Steinway H [1893, with laminated rim inside the back framing, an interesting creature]), a 30 gram weight was called for. With very even pedal and spoon lift, it makes for a very sweet touch (obviously the regulation all around needs to be good.)

    Joe Wiencek,
    RPT


    Original Message