Andrew Remillard's article, called "Dampers: Peace and Quiet at Last" in the December 2002 issue has some nice diagrams and general wisdom about selecting/replacing damper felt. Including some pictures of what Paul suggested w/rt adding cord to spread the legs apart.
You actually don't _want_ the trichord felt to stab down between the strings too far. That's actually a condition that tends to develop over time as the felt gets compacted in places from being pushed against the wire. It then starts to cause zingy sounds when the damper is lifted. So if your concern about the fit comes from having the "legs" seeming bit too fat, you might want to just go ahead and install one as is and see how it does. It's going to settle in a bit, especially if you got the Laoreaux stuff which is very soft.
There is a keyword journal search function here where you can find more articles: https://my.ptg.org/ptgeducation/index . Not meaning to tell you to "google it", it's just that we know it's not as well-publicized of a feature as it could be...
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Nathan Monteleone RPT
Fort Worth TX
(817) 675-9494
nbmont@gmail.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 04-21-2024 07:36
From: Sean Stafford
Subject: Grand Trichord Dampers - shaping and fitting
I'm replacing dampers on my old chickering grand and the project is going fine but I'm seeking information on tools and techniques for fitting the tricord dampers.
I purchased tricord felt strip from schaff and they are close to a perfect fit, but the problem is that they just don't seem like they will seat very well unless I trim and shape them.
Is it common to have to trim. shape and align the tricords and what is are the techniques involved in this?
If you can point me to any articles in the archives I would be appreciative of that too.
Thanks in advance for your advice and guidance!
Sean
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Sean Stafford
Endicott NY
(607) 239-4643
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