Pianotech

Expand all | Collapse all

Damper up-stop adjustment

  • 1.  Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-20-2019 09:32
    A rot-gut-simple damper up-stop regulating jig.  Setting this adjustment, with its in and out blind guesswork, at the end of a regulation, often means it doesn't get done. I needed someway to record the sample damper height , before pulling the action to make the adjustment.

    pics imbedded. The recording jigs sit on top of the resting dampers.  2 samples per section are taken on black keys. Depress the sample black key to full dip. With sample key at full dip, and the rest of the keys at rest, with a .060" shim sitting on top of the sample damper head, adjust the recording screw until it is just touching the top of the shim. Remove the shim and the action, and adjust the damper up-stop rail until the damper up-stop rail only allows the damper head to just touch the screw of the jig. For the rail adjustment, the jig is still sitting on top the other resting dampers in the section, and, of course the shim has been removed.
    .

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-20-2019 14:16
    Nice!

    Pwg

    ------------------------------
    Peter Grey
    Stratham NH
    603-686-2395
    pianodoctor57@gmail.com
    ------------------------------



  • 3.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-20-2019 14:38
    Nice jigs Jim, but my clothes pins have been doing this for 40 years.

    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-20-2019 16:26
    how?  Clip it on the head and index off the index heads?

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-20-2019 17:04

    Jim. Not sure I understand the "index" part of your explanation 

    I hold down a sharp and clip a clothes pin on it. The spring type with a flat bottom.  Do that for a sharp at both ends of each section.  To get a little extra room, raise the damper a few mm.  

    Remove the action and raise the damper tray until the rest of the dampers are the same height as the clipped ones.  Then lower the up stop rail onto the levers.  



    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-20-2019 18:34
    I love that idea for a road regulation!  Thanks so much!

    ------------------------------
    Ted Rohde
    Central Illinois
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-20-2019 22:10
    I set the damper upstop rail after I have derived the thickness for the stop block felt on the damper pedal trap lever. The trap lever stop felt is made to stop the pedal travel at equal or slightly greater than the damper lift produced by the sharp keys. Wedge the damper pedal fully down, then bring the damper upstop rail down to just barely touch the damper underlevers. This allows the underlevers some free play above the keyends so the sostenuto can carry the dampers a little higher than the damper pedal does by itself.

    ------------------------------
    Edward McMorrow
    Edmonds WA
    425-299-3431
    ------------------------------



  • 8.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-20-2019 22:51
    Excellent...thanks, Ed.

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 9.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-21-2019 12:48
    There's a much simpler method.  Make a wedge like this (a triangular upright lid prop works well too).


    Insert under the damper tray like this to raise it slightly


    Check the height of the damper tray by inserting the action and testing by depressing random white and black keys.  The tray is the correct height when a white key depressed fully doesn't move the damper head at all and the black key causes the damper head to just wink slightly.  You will have to pull the action and move the wedge in or out to adjust the tray height a couple of times to get it right.  Once it's in the right place then remove the action and lower the upstop rail until it just rests lightly on the underlever.  Done.  Simple.  Don't forget to remove the wedge.

    ------------------------------
    David Love RPT
    www.davidlovepianos.com
    davidlovepianos@comcast.net
    415 407 8320
    ------------------------------



  • 10.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-21-2019 18:13
    Even simplier: press few sharps and pinch the corresponding dempers with laundry pinch. Remove the action. Adjust stop rail.

    Alexander Brusilovsky




  • 11.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-21-2019 18:38
    Alexander. I think a "laundry pinch" is the same as a clothes pin.

    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
    ------------------------------



  • 12.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-21-2019 19:03
    you both are putting the clothespin (pinch) on the selected damper head, while the bottom of the clothespin rests on the dampers which are still resting on the strings...right?

    ------------------------------
    Jim Ialeggio
    grandpianosolutions.com
    Shirley, MA
    978 425-9026
    ------------------------------



  • 13.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 10-21-2019 23:00

    Jim

    No. Push down on the sharp and while the damper is off the string, the same height as when the sharp is played, clamp the clothes pin to the side of the damper head.  Do this for each damper on both ends of each section. So you'll need at least 6 pins if there are 3 sections of dampers.  



    ------------------------------
    Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
    Mililani, HI 96789
    ------------------------------



  • 14.  RE: Damper up-stop adjustment

    Posted 10-22-2019 05:48
    Right

    Alexander Brusilovsky