Pianotech

  • 1.  leveling keys

    Posted 11-20-2020 21:42
    hello All,
    i have the WNG key level stick and am about to level the keys. Is it best to use the straight edge or the side with the slight crown?   I started with the crowned side, but when you slide your fingers over the keys towards the center of the keyboard, it's not smooth: you can definitely feel the little jumps even though they are very small.
    Is there a preferred way (straight or crowned)?
    thank you,
    Peter

    ------------------------------
    Petrus Janssen
    Peachtree City GA
    678-416-8055
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: leveling keys

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 11-20-2020 22:12
    I prefer to use the side where most of the keys are. Most Steinways have a crown, but I've had some that were straight. With other brands, some are crowned but most are straight. 

    The best way to find even the slightest unlevel keys that are high is to tap the level stick and look for winks of the back checks. The best way to find keys that are low is to run your fingers under the keys and listen the click of the keytop hitting the level stick.

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



  • 3.  RE: leveling keys

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 11-21-2020 10:50
    Hi Peter,
    I think it's up to the individual tech and piano, but I usually put a crown in a keyboard. I use the same WNG level. I don't have any problem getting the keys to be perfectly level to each other whether I use the flat or curved side of the WNG leveling stick.
    A simple trick to do final leveling is to sight down the keys with your eye just above the key level.  You'll see the low and high keys immediately. Learned that at the Yamaha Little Red School house, it can be maddening trying to get it perfect.
    If you've leveled keys on a lot of older grands you'll notice right away that the middle couple octaves always end up lower than the end keys, just from playing compression - in other words a negative crown. The positive crown helps compensate for that for future playing.
    Another tool for leveling you can make yourself is to use two 24" angle aluminum straight edges. I made a pair of these from 1/16" thick by 1" by 1" angle aluminum you can get from the hardware store. The advantage for packing in a vehicle is that the tool is half as long. You have to set samples at notes 1, 44, 45 and 88, but you can customize the crown to anything you like. The other advantage to this setup is it's great for teaching or otherwise doing the job with two people.
    But I do love that WNG straight edge, we use it in our key making shop for numerous operations, my favorite is making sure the keyblank is held flat before CNC processing, which is critical for what we do.
    Best regards,
    -Dean Reyburn, RPT


    ------------------------------
    Dean Reyburn, RPT
    Reyburn Pianoworks
    Reyburn CyberTuner
    1-616-498-9854
    dean@reyburn.com
    www.reyburnpianoworks.com
    www.cybertuner.com
    www.martysmasks.com 
    Facebook: www.facebook.com/dean.reyburn
    ------------------------------



  • 4.  RE: leveling keys

    Posted 11-21-2020 11:57
    A crowned key level does not preserve the dip. The dip is set the same across the keyboard after leveling. So if the level drops in the center, the dip becomes shallow unless the front rail punching have proportionally compressed.

    I think Steinway set the crown to mirror the curve to the key bed. I don't know if it's still done to the key bed, probably not but the crowned level might. It lingers on in the field anyway.

    Another test, other than the sight-line that Dean mentioned is to lightly move your fingers across the keyboard. You can feel the ones which are low by a .002" punching.  The weight of the level might not allow up-knocking of the key which is why adjustable props for the end keys is important.
    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
    ------------------------------



  • 5.  RE: leveling keys

    Posted 11-21-2020 12:14
    Make sure the lyre is not supported by anything. Back in the 70's, I levelled keys on a piano that was a on a thick shag rug. The piano relocated to the owner's restaurant and the dip instantly became too shallow. It made opening night a little stressful for the piano player, Dave McKenna.
    I reset the dip and touched up the top action regulation before he played again.

    The lyre being pressed up into the bottom of the key bed affects the level more than the dip.

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
    ------------------------------



  • 6.  RE: leveling keys

    Posted 11-21-2020 12:51
    hello Dean, Alan, Jon and all,
    i found the issue:  i installed new key pins some 6 months ago, eyeballing their straightness when doing so.  Then i had to put everything aside to focus on a customer's rebuild and when i resumed working on my own piano, i just assumed that the key pins were straight..... they were not!
    i had not straightened the pins with the square edge i typically use.  I just did one section this morning and the keys level perfectly with the leveling stick and with a smooth transition from key to key.
    Thank you,
    Peter

    ------------------------------
    Petrus Janssen
    Peachtree City GA
    678-416-8055
    ------------------------------



  • 7.  RE: leveling keys

    Posted 11-21-2020 14:43
    That means that you altered the level by adjusting the angle of the pin. A minor bend can affect the lever angle by changing the position of the rear and center of the key resting points..  When doing so, I'd be more concerned about the fronts being in-line than the angle of the pin.  Get the front oriented in line and then adjust the height with punchings.  Make certain that the balance hole height is not too high.  Look in the archives for my Balance Hole Reaming/Easing Guide. (or whatever I called it)

    Also while using the level, square the key tops to the level. That is why you shouldn't align the back checks to the hammers until after the keys are squared. A few --degrees at the front, places the b/c in a different orientation.

    [The dash prefix was to prevent the automatic ° symbol. I thought I disabled that.]

    ------------------------------
    Regards,

    Jon Page
    mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
    http://www.pianocapecod.com
    ------------------------------