Pianotech

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Thank you both.

Wim, you're saying that if the brackets were replacements from Young Chang, they would be gold-colored--is that correct?

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Attached is the original white paper from YC, written by Phil Glenn. 

It specifies the action spread to be 112.5mm; models newer than 1992 at 113.5. 

One clue to look for even if the regulation seems to be working is whether the let off and drop screws have had to be turned way down in order for it to work. The hammer rest rail is fixed on that action so if the blow is correct with the shanks resting right on the felt that indicates....what? Not sure but it shouldn't be that way.

You can see in the picture that if the shank was raised off the rest felt, the tongue of the knuckle would be more inline with the jack. 

Probably if you brought the spread up to spec and regulated it appropriately the action would work better than it is currently.

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Evidently: "If they're gray, they shouldn't stay" according to YC.

Do it now as preventive maintenance. I just treated the same model WG-50 #G099939 this past year. Have another one to do soon. 

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Attached is the original white paper from YC, written by Phil Glenn. 

It specifies the action spread to be 112.5mm; models newer than 1992 at 113.5. 

One clue to look for even if the regulation seems to be working is whether the let off and drop screws have had to be turned way down in order for it to work. The hammer rest rail is fixed on that action so if the blow is correct with the shanks resting right on the felt that indicates....what? Not sure but it shouldn't be that way.

You can see in the picture that if the shank was raised off the rest felt, the tongue of the knuckle would be more inline with the jack. 

Probably if you brought the spread up to spec and regulated it appropriately the action would work better than it is currently.

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

I ended up simply aligning the jack/core as the primary benchmark. Worked perfectly.

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Evidently: "If they're gray, they shouldn't stay" according to YC.

Do it now as preventive maintenance. I just treated the same model WG-50 #G099939 this past year. Have another one to do soon. 

Peter Grey Piano Doctor 

Attached is the original white paper from YC, written by Phil Glenn. 

It specifies the action spread to be 112.5mm; models newer than 1992 at 113.5. 

One clue to look for even if the regulation seems to be working is whether the let off and drop screws have had to be turned way down in order for it to work. The hammer rest rail is fixed on that action so if the blow is correct with the shanks resting right on the felt that indicates....what? Not sure but it shouldn't be that way.

You can see in the picture that if the shank was raised off the rest felt, the tongue of the knuckle would be more inline with the jack. 

Probably if you brought the spread up to spec and regulated it appropriately the action would work better than it is currently.

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Attached is the original white paper from YC, written by Phil Glenn. 

It specifies the action spread to be 112.5mm; models newer than 1992 at 113.5. 

One clue to look for even if the regulation seems to be working is whether the let off and drop screws have had to be turned way down in order for it to work. The hammer rest rail is fixed on that action so if the blow is correct with the shanks resting right on the felt that indicates....what? Not sure but it shouldn't be that way.

You can see in the picture that if the shank was raised off the rest felt, the tongue of the knuckle would be more inline with the jack. 

Probably if you brought the spread up to spec and regulated it appropriately the action would work better than it is currently.

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster

Attached is the original white paper from YC, written by Phil Glenn. 

It specifies the action spread to be 112.5mm; models newer than 1992 at 113.5. 

One clue to look for even if the regulation seems to be working is whether the let off and drop screws have had to be turned way down in order for it to work. The hammer rest rail is fixed on that action so if the blow is correct with the shanks resting right on the felt that indicates....what? Not sure but it shouldn't be that way.

You can see in the picture that if the shank was raised off the rest felt, the tongue of the knuckle would be more inline with the jack. 

Probably if you brought the spread up to spec and regulated it appropriately the action would work better than it is currently.

Hi Benjamin,

The type of action bracket you have in the photo looks to me like the kind that will eventually cause problems. I would recommend replacing them before they cause major issues. Sometimes you'll be able to catch them early on when it's still possible to remove the action, and other times they expand rather quickly and you won't catch it until it's too late. Better to be safe than sorry and replace them before it gets to the point where you can't.

Another indicator that it's time to replace them is the action spread, which should be between 112-113mm. If you're already over that number, that may indicate that the action brackets have started expanding, howbeit slowly and not too crazy - yet. Again, better to be safe than sorry and replace them as soon as you can.

P.S. I'd recommend bidding for 4-5 hours of labor plus the cost of the new brackets. Ideally it wouldn't take that long, but sometimes it does, especially if someone has already regulated the action to compensate for the change in geometry. 

Hi All,

A school I'm working with has a Young Chang-made Weber grand, model WG-50, serial G 095799. The customer volunteered (it wouldn't have occurred to me) that the piano might be of the vintage with expanding action brackets. The regulation is not bad; letoff is reasonable, no issues with checking, although the shanks are on the cushions. To be safe, however, I pulled the action and had a closer look. The brackets are gray-green in color, but do not have any visible cracking or deformation. Action spread is about 114 mm ( I was using a ruler) and consistent through the range. 

My questions are 1) to those with experience, do these appear to be the defective brackets, or could they be replacements supplied by Young Chang? and 2) if they are the original, defective type, and have lasted 20+ years with no problems, is it necessary to replace them? I'm aware that Supply88 sells replacements.

Appreciate your thoughts.

Ben Webster