David, thanks. I've done many S&S upstop rails before and never had a problem. Generally, my starting point is (assuming the key lift and pedal are correct) is simply loosen the rail and prop up the pedal with a mute. On most pianos, that usually gives a tight fit--no slack at all. From there, I simply prop up the damper tray just a little with something, usually a block of wood with a a selected punching on top. That gives me the tiny bit of slack when hitting a sharp key at a MF blow. In this case, the rail simply is at the bottom of its travel and there's too much play in the damper.
I'll be seeing the piano again soon. Maybe there's something else I haven't thought of. I'll recheck both lift from key and pedal.
Anyone know what the diagonal slashes are in the photo above?
By the way, the rebuilder also heavily spray-painted the bottom of the piano black as well, leaving overspray on the bottom of the soundboard.
Not sure why they thought it necessary. It is stealthy though...
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Scott Cole, RPT
rvpianotuner.com
Talent, OR
(541-601-9033
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Original Message:
Sent: 07-26-2022 08:06
From: David Hughes
Subject: M damper upstop rail
Scott,
Jon Page has hit the nail on the head (reply #6). The Steinway damper tray is a non-concentric animal: the pivot center of the underlevers and the pivot center of the tray are not the same. Thus when the underlever is raised by the keytail (and the sustain pedal is at rest) the underlever's azimuth is X; when the underlever is raised by the damper tray (the susain pedal is actuated) its azimuth is Y. The upstop rail is asked to check (govern) underlever rise identically in both scenarios. It's a mechanical impossibility. It's an inexplicable design.
Set your upstop rail the best you can to accommodate both modes of operation and call it a day.
Until a damper tray in a Steinway piano is replaced with one of concentric design this dilemma can never be solved.
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David Hughes RPT
Vintage Case Parts
Glyndon MD
(443) 522-2201
Original Message:
Sent: 07-25-2022 10:19
From: Scott Cole
Subject: M damper upstop rail
Greetings all,
I came to a recently purchased (rebuilt, date unknown) 1978 M and found an odd problem: I could not get the damper upstop rail low enough. The other regulation parameters seemed reasonable: dampers to key lift and pedal were ok. In the photo you can see the rail is at the bottom of its travel. Anything I should look for?
One thing that crossed my mind is that the back action is painted black. Perhaps it's not original? Do I need to simply redrilll the screw holes?
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Scott Cole, RPT
rvpianotuner.com
Talent, OR
(541-601-9033
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