To set the hammer distance for half-blow, insert a few mutes under the rail to set the distance. Mark with pen or tape on the wedge. Once the damper lift rod is set from the hammer rail, insert the mutes under the rail to the index.
Thanks Fred, that's a better method than I used to do by wedging the lift rail, lifting the wippen and eyeballing the half-blow to set spoon/damper lift. Now I do it all in the piano by setting an even pedal lift and wedge the hammer rail. Then brace the damper lever with the narrow spoon tool between the keys and press the key down for the lever to bend the spoon. They usually are too soon to lift. The narrow tool allows Zen-like access to bend the spoons if the spoon is bent too much. Consoles mostly. For spinets and uprights I use the long, bent spoon regulation tools.
20 to 40 minutes to set the lift. Same time to adjust the spoons.
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Regards,
Jon Page
mailto:
jonpage@pianocapecod.comhttp://www.pianocapecod.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 03-30-2020 21:30
From: Gregory Granoff
Subject: S&S damper spoons
Thanks so much, Fred! It was as I suspected, but really appreciate the review on technique.
Greg
Greg Granoff RPT
Original Message------
It's been many years, but as I recall, the spoons were probably threaded into the wippen rather than having fluted bottoms. Hence, the spoon wanted to rotate rather than bend. I prefer doing spoons in the piano, but if faced with that design I'd probably do outside.
Get good even lift from the pedal. Measure the distance from the hammer rail (edge just before the felt) to sample damper heads (I use a narrow 6" rule, put the end of the rule in the slot of the screw of the damper head, record the measurement).
Then, with action on the bench, wedge under the lift rod to recreate those distances. Wedge the hammer rail forward to advance the hammers to a midway point. Bend each spoon so its hammer and damper begin to move simultaneously.