I know every trade has its own way of using words that mean one thing to the tradesperson but might be confusing to the outsider...
But consistency seems to be lacking in the terminology used regarding dampers and their assemblage.
One question is this: if the dowel with a hole in it that holds the larger damper assembly to the damper wire is called a 'damper block'--that was exactly how a bag of such items that I purchased last week was labeled--then what do you call the actual 'block like' structure that holds the felt itself?
I would think of the block like structure as the likely candidate for being called a damper 'block', and I would think the dowel would have some other name... grommet?
Anyway, I really appreciate the instructions that I have received from some participants, but once again I am not sure they fully understand the situation I am dealing with.
One instruction said to position the 'block' on the 'wire' and to tighten the screw; then to place the 'felt' with glue, in such a way as to press it against the strings.
In my case, I actually am working with a fully assembled 'block', an oblong piece of wood with the red and white felt pieces already glued on, which I bought fully assembled, just minus the dowel.
My goal is to place the dowels on the wire straight up and down, tighten the screw, then place the entire REST of the damper assemblage as described above, against the string with glue on the back to stick it to the dowel.
It was tricky because the I had to do six dampers, all in a row.
I guess it would work to do it the way described above if only ONE damper were being replaced. The dampers on wither side could hold it in place long enough for the glue to start drying.
When i realized this was not practical for six dampers in a row, I half-removed the action, took the dowels off the wires, placed glue on the back of what I call the blocks; pressed the felt side of the against the strings, holding the dowel straight up and down--i.e. with the hole for the wire centered at the top; then quickly positioned the block at the angle of the strings, and held the the whole thing together long enough for it not to fall apart.
With the glue just starting to dry, I have left the six dampers in the open air and hope they will be secure enough to place back in the piano as a complete part.
I am not complaining! I just am trying to figure out how one of those rare piano techs out there who like doing dampers would do a whole row like this.
One thought: has anyone thought of using soft wax to take an impression of the string that need dampers? You could place the wax impression in a mitre-box and place the damper assemblies in such a way as to match the slant of the strings.
Then you could position the dowels square to the mitre box, and let the whole thing dry. The final product should be able to be inserted directly onto the requisite damper wires.
H
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Hank Mooney
San Francisco CA
415-640-2731
[Hank]
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