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Young Chang Action Brackets

  • 1.  Young Chang Action Brackets

    Member
    Posted 07-23-2019 17:27
    I encountered a Young Chang model G-175 yesterday that had at least a dozen notes blocking the strings. i immediately thought it may be an expanding action bracket issue. Visually the action brackets do not look like they are collapsing or cracked but maybe they dont always show it. i did not measure the action spread but my concern is that once I start regulation I'll own the piano for better or worse. The July PTG Journal article states blocking hammers is one of the first signs of an action bracket issue. The brackets are silver/gray and my recollection is that replacement brackets are gold. The serial number is 109849 dating it to 1997. The majority of expanding action brackets were 1990 to 1994, some in 1988 and some in 1998 . Perhaps the safe thing to do is to order new brackets from YC , charge the customer for the shipping, install of new brackets and the needed action regulation and not risk it. Any thoughts ?

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    James Kelly
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 2.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 07-23-2019 17:36
    Maybe check the action spread first.

    Sent from my iPhone





  • 3.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-23-2019 18:31
    James. 

    The old old brackets are silver/gray.  If those are in this piano, they are most likely expanding.  You can, but don't have to, measure action spread. I would suggest you buy the replacement brackets and get it over with.  Pass the cost on to the customer. 

    When I encounter this problem I do the best to explain to the customer what happened and tell them that there really is no other option other than buying another piano.  I charge about 4 hours of work plus the cost of the brackets.  

    Above all, and you probably know this, do not attempt to do any regulating on the action before you replace the brackets.  I've found that when replacing the brackets, do the outside ones first, and line up the back of the jack with the back of the knuckle core. If you do that, and then the middle two, surprisingly, the action almost works, and very little regulation is needed.

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    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
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  • 4.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 05-29-2021 11:21
    I'm looking for young Chang action brackets. Does anyone know where I can guy them? Our local dealer has been saying they are out of stock for the last year

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    Derek Seville
    Hemet
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  • 5.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Member
    Posted 07-23-2019 20:16
     I agree with you because it is a losing proposition to start doing a regulation on an action with questionable brackets . The serial number falls in the range and the fact there are so many blocking hammers is a red flag. I had not seen the problem before and then in two months I had to deal with it. The first was a wurlitzer second was a yc . The Young Chang brackets completely crumbled

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  • 6.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-23-2019 23:59
    James, I have in the past gotten grey replacement brackets though more recent ones have been gold.
    There are usually signs of stress in the bad brackets, cracks, discoloration, flaking, and they don't fit well in the keyframe. 
    I recently did a reconditioning job on a YC that seemed to have had the brackets replaced but the technician was careless with the spread, it was 2mm off at the top and even more in the bass, the rest rail was a half inch too high, etc. making the piano really hard to play. It could be that you've found the same thing, replaced brackets but minimal regulation.
    I think it's best to measure out the spread, I think it's 12.5mm for the later models. The case with my reconditioning job was that the jacks were set too far back even with the extra wide spread, if I'd adjusted to those the geometry would still have been off.
    If you get replacements you can compare them to the originals, if they're identical then you don't have to replace them, if not, you're ready to go. The bad brackets don't collapse, they expand.

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    Steven Rosenthal
    Honolulu HI
    808-521-7129
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  • 7.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 07-24-2019 12:34
    Recently worked on a Young Chang Y175 from 2014 which had 19 stuck/blocking hammers. 10 from B75 to C88, other 9 spread across #3-63. Turned out to be jack flanges with off-the-guage friction readings. Reaming and repinning were the solution there. ​

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    [Dwight][Denzer][RPT]
    [Dwight's Piano Works]
    [Springfield][IL]
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  • 8.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Member
    Posted 07-25-2019 00:23
    If you had high friction readings on the flanges it is most likely the center pin seizure problem caused by flaking on the plating of the center pins and hanging up on the bushing fibers. I pulled a hammer and it gave me approximately 6 swings. According to a YC service bulletin that addressed the action bracket issue you can't judge the brackets by appearance. Two grands I worked on that had bracket problems both had visible cracks and fissures on the brackets. One was so far advanced the brackets crumbled .

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    James Kelly
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 9.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 07-25-2019 06:07
    Expanding action bracket issue: 1990 to 1998
    Serial #'s: 050000 to 118750​

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@pianocapecod.com
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 10.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-26-2022 20:34
    Young Chang   G-123   sn:G 015313   yr:1984
    Even though this piano is outside the window for expanding action brackets it exhibits all the signs of expanding brackets, except the brackets are gold, not silver/gray. Hammers already resting on the rest rail felt and are still high enough that they are pressing in to the bottom of the pinblock when pulling the action out. Performance is horrible. (No, I did not think to measure the action spread. Sorry.) If this isn't expanding action brackets what should I be looking at?

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    Geoff Sykes, RPT
    Los Angeles CA
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  • 11.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 08-26-2022 21:23
    Geof

    I would pull the action and measure the action spread. (112.5). It might be a loose wippen rail, which is easy to fix.  In addition to action spread, look at the position of the jack in relation to the knuckle core. Make sure they line up properly. 

    Also, after you pull the action, make sure there is nothing laying on the keybed, and that that the back rail cloth is clean. 
     

    Wim





  • 12.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 08-26-2022 21:28
    After 1991, action spread is 113.5 mm.

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    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
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  • 13.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 05-29-2021 11:23
    I'm looking for young Chang action brackets. Does anyone know where I can guy them? Our local dealer has been saying they are out of stock for the last year

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    Derek Seville
    Hemet
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  • 14.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-29-2021 11:26
    vincentchoi@pal-sound.com. He's the contact for Young Chang brackets.
    Paul McCloud


    Derek Seville
    I'm looking for young Chang action brackets. Does anyone know where I can guy them? Our local dealer has been saying they are out of stock for the last year

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    Derek Seville
    Hemet





  • 15.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 05-29-2021 16:40
    Does anyone know if the action bracket issue extends to Wurlitzers made by Young Chang? 

    Also, what about YC verticals? Ever see it there?

    Pwg

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    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
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  • 16.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Member
    Posted 05-29-2021 17:34
    Yes it does. I had to fix a Wurlitzer and several Young Changs.  The problem can also be present in Webers, Piano-Disc pianos from late 80's and early 90's. The following came from documents published by YC at the time when it was a warranty issue.

    During the early to mid-90's Young Chang Korea manufactured grand pianos for Wurlitzer,
    Weber and Pianodisk, as well as a few other stencils for large dealers. They all have the
    possibility of "growing action brackets". The metal brackets that the action rails are connected to
    actually expand over time. Blocking hammers1 wide action spread or unstable regulation are sure
    signs. Only Young Chang brand pianos or stencil pianos sold by Young Chang America are
    covered by our warranty.
    The brackets are gray and die-cast from an aluminum alloy. The vendor mixed the alloys
    incorrectly so that the metal becomes unstable. To our customers1 I compare it to putting too
    much yeast in a bread dough mix. It generally takes from 2 to 5 years to start showing up. Do not
    judge the bad parts by appearance, because they may not show any signs of a problem. Remove
    them all and throw them away... far away

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    James Kelly
    Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
    Pawleys Island SC
    843-325-4357
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  • 17.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 03-08-2022 15:28
    I recently bought some brackets and it cost $120.00 for a set.  Now on to the repair!  :-)

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    Patrick Greene
    OWNER
    Knoxville TN
    865-384-6582
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  • 18.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 03-08-2022 16:20
    How long did it take you to get the brackets?

    Wim





  • 19.  RE: Young Chang Action Brackets

    Posted 03-11-2022 09:27
    supply88 is now making polyethylene action brackets for those problem brackets - directions on the website to order the right size. Great company to work with and order times are quick.

    https://supply88.com/collections/brackets

    Ron Koval

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    Ron Koval
    Chicagoland
    rontuner@hotmail.com
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