Pianotech

Working on a Charles Walter upright-- Damper rod appears to be twisting.  Treble dampers lift well, but the lift gradually decreases toward the bass until the bass dampers barely lift at all.  Pulled the action, tightened the hook brackets, inspected the hooks, all seemed fine.  When I lifted the bass dampers out of the way, the treble dampers lifted fine, but with the added weight of the bass dampers the treble rod seemed to be twisting under the extra weight.  Walter says they've never seen this before, but I find that extraordinary.  Their techs were all out of the shop when I called them earlier this week.  Now they want a video (on a piano an hour away).  Is it possible that the rod itself is twisting when the extra weight of the bass dampers is added?  As a temporary measure, I shimmed the connection between the treble and bass damper rods until we can complete a better repair. 

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Timothy Edwards
Beckley WV
(740) 517-7636
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It's not likely the rod itself is twisting.  More likely that the hangar brackets (L shaped thingees) are not aligned or loose, or the hangar flanges are broken, loose, or the felt inside is deteriorated.  I once tried to bend that rod, different brand, but unless it's heated it's not going to bend.  I'm not a fan of those split rods because they are prone to problems like this.  All the parts have to be very rigid if it's going to work reliably.  Take the rod out and sight down the brackets to see if they're in a straight line, correct as needed.  Make sure the flanges are tight on the rail, and any material that might have been placed between the two rods (cushioning?) is still there.

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Paul McCloud, RPT
Accutone Piano Service
www.AccutonePianoService.com
pavadasa@gmail.com
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With my customer being an hour away over the interstate, I thought I'd investigate the feasibility of making my next trip armed with a bag of replacement parts, so I could perhaps complete a repair in one trip.  The damper rods in these Walter uprights must not be of uniform spec, however.  They asked for the exact measurements of the existing rod before they could quote me a price on a replacement.  I guess I could go with a couple brackets/flanges, but if any of those hooks are bent or mis-aligned, I would guess that just bending it back would be a temporary repair.  Replacing the hook will probably require a metal shop, or at least something that I no longer have.  No drill press, no vise to securely hold the rod for drilling (sold all that when we liquidated our store); so in any case other than a broken or bent bracket, I'm probably looking at 2 trips to complete their repair, and possibly leaving their piano without treble damper function while the rod is repaired.  Certainly not impossible, but just disappointing.  Those Walter rod brackets are definitely not what Schaff sells, so I'll probably have to see if Walter will ship me a couple brackets.  So far, they've not been tremendously accommodating.  Maybe they're just having a bad day.  I really like their pianos.  

-- Tim

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Timothy Edwards
Beckley WV
(740) 517-7636
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-29-2026 12:26
From: Paul McCloud
Subject: C Walter damper lift rod.

It's not likely the rod itself is twisting.  More likely that the hangar brackets (L shaped thingees) are not aligned or loose, or the hangar flanges are broken, loose, or the felt inside is deteriorated.  I once tried to bend that rod, different brand, but unless it's heated it's not going to bend.  I'm not a fan of those split rods because they are prone to problems like this.  All the parts have to be very rigid if it's going to work reliably.  Take the rod out and sight down the brackets to see if they're in a straight line, correct as needed.  Make sure the flanges are tight on the rail, and any material that might have been placed between the two rods (cushioning?) is still there.

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Paul McCloud, RPT
Accutone Piano Service
www.AccutonePianoService.com
pavadasa@gmail.com
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I experienced the exact same symptoms on an older Young Chang upright. I found that the base of the leftmost damper bracket support had cracked where it is screwed into the action frame, right between the two screws. Hope that helps.

Sounds like a problem I had with another brand of piano. Turned out to be a broken part on the damper lift rod. there is an article in the on line PTG journals that has the fix I have never had this or any problem on a Chas Walter 

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James Kelly
Owner- Fur Elise Piano Service
Pawleys Island SC
(843) 325-4357
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-30-2026 01:38
From: David Trasoff
Subject: C Walter damper lift rod.

I experienced the exact same symptoms on an older Young Chang upright. I found that the base of the leftmost damper bracket support had cracked where it is screwed into the action frame, right between the two screws. Hope that helps.