#bernerd

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Refinement: Round 1

Every piano is different, and although there are recommended measurements for key dip, blow distance, hammer height, etc., changes are sometimes needed to suit a specific action. At this point, Danny Boone’s Regulating Grand Piano Touch and Tonesuggested fully regulating 3 notes in the center of the keyboard to determine the best measurements. It was time to get an expert technician, Jack Mills,…

As I mentioned a couple of posts ago, the Weber had been without casters for about 20 years. After we moved to our log home, I was eager to make it more playable, but there was a distinct rattling! It took me a while to find the rattle, and it turned out to be the casters. Off they came. I wasn’t aware piano geometry then, and although I noticed the keyboard was somewhat lower, it didn’t bother me. I stored the old casters in the garden shed and forgot about them.

Now, with an action rebuild in process, it became obvious the extra bit of height was crucial not only for the player’s comfort, it also effected the function of the pedals. Resting so close to the floor, they couldn’t be fully depressed.

Everybody need a little buff now and then …

I discussed casters with Bernard, and he suggested a new set. At nearly $300, I hesitated. Then he mentioned some older casters that had been removed from other rebuilds — maybe some of them would suffice. We looked through the collection, and many had been removed for good reason. We did find one set of brass casters that looked pretty good though, and I could have them for considerably less. A little polishing, and they would look almost like new, and with the “modesty skirts” of the Weber’s Victorian case legs, most of the caster would be hidden anyway.

The first step was to clean up the “new” casters. The wheels were brass, but the rest looked like brass-plated steel. Comparing them with the old casters, I noticed a difference in size between the mounts. I would have to enlarge the hole in each leg. Using a cloth wheel and a little white polishing compound, were gleaming in no time.

Using a farm jack with the temporary leg installed

The next problem was removing each piano leg long enough to install the new casters. This is a heavier-than-average standard grand, and I was working alone. No problem — that’s what farm jacks are for. I had purchased a 48-inch jack thinking we could use it with our teardrop trailer, but it was simply to large and heavy. It was perfect for this job. I found a couple of scrap boards and blocks of wood to stabilize the farm jack base and protect the piano from its steel jaw.

It didn’t seem wise to rely on the farm jack while the piano leg was missing — I don’t really trust jacks of any kind. A substitute leg (a piano prosthetic?) seemed best. I have plenty of rough cedar 4-by-4 cutoffs, and the addition of a few long lag screws makes a very stout leg. I was ready for the lift.

Having never jacked up a grand piano before, I was cautious and took it slow. The farm jack made it very easy, and in a few minutes, one corner of the piano was several inches in the air. A few whacks with a rubber-faced mallet, and the leg was off. I positioned the substitute leg, and lowered the jack to share the weight. So far, so good.

The next problem was how to enlarge a hole and keep it perfectly round and centered. Bernard suggested plugging the hole with a piece of hardwood dowel and then re-drilling it. The only problem, 3/4-inch dowel isn’t available at the local home store. They do have 1-inch though. I would have to turn it down to the correct size.

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the lathe “chuck”

A poor man’s lathe

You must first plug the hole

and then enlarge it

Improvising with a “poor-man’s lathe,” I drilled a quarter-inch hole as close to the center of the 1-inch dowel as I could, and then installed a “T” nut in one end. A long, 1/4-inch bolt became the mandrel and an old 1/4-inch hand drill became the lathe. Mounted it into a wood vise, I “turned” the dowel down to 3/4-inch using a wood rasp. A snug fit in the existing hole, and the 1-inch paddle bit centered up just fine.

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Now it’s 1-inch

Caster bracket installed

Ready for the piano

With a “modesty skirt” that hides most of the caster

The new caster mounts were a little sloppy in the new hole, so some thin shims snugged  them up. After pre-drilling the four holes in the mounts, 2 and 1/2-inch wood screws secured them. I tapped the caster into the mount and the leg was ready to be remounted on the piano. One leg done.

A tight fit for lifting the piano

The other two legs went together without incident, except space around the piano was tight. With the two grand pianos nested together, I barely had enough room for the farm jack. There was just enough though. The entire job took only a couple of hours.

And how did the piano do with all that moving and flexing? Not bad. A couple of notes detuned slightly, but not much. The Weber still has a very good and stable pin block. And best of all, the pedals were in the air enough to use. I could now align the hammers for the sotto voce pedal. Success!

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – RTFM

The Book

At the beginning of this project, my piano technician friend Jack recommended I read Regulating Grand Piano Touch and Tone by Danny L. Boone. It breaks the process down into 56 steps from reshaping the hammers to adjusting the pedals. I spent some time with it, but dove into the process with Bernard’s and Celeste’s help without really reading it all.

So far, that had been fine. But after

After the much-needed boost of demonstrating the Weber with rebuilt action at our piano gathering, I was eager to continue. Time to align the hammers so they centered on the strings and shifted correctly when the sotto voce pedal (or “soft” pedal, on the left) was pressed. The soft pedal shifts the entire action slightly to the right, with the goal of hitting just two of the three strings on the “triples” (notes 21 and above on the Weber) and one of the two strings on the “doubles” (notes 9 to 20).

Grand hammer butt spacer in use

One uses a special tool to shift the hammers slightly left and right while the action is installed in the piano. It works by grabbing the butt of the hammer flange from under the pin block. With one note depressed so the hammer is near the string, the technician peers over the pin block while using the “grand hammer butt spacer” tool to twist the flange thus shifting the hammer slightly left or right.

Regulating a hammer butt in place

It is checked to confirm string centering (released) and hitting only one or two strings (doubles and triples) when pressed. There is the added complication that the hammers must not hit any of the adjacent strings when the soft pedal is pressed — not easy with the tight tolerances involved. As I worked, it was clear I couldn’t satisfy both conditions because the action was not shifting enough with the pedal depression.

Rusty ‘ole casters

The cause was likely the old, rusted, ruined and rattling casters had been removed from the Weber almost 20 years before. This changed the keyboard height by at least an inch and allowed the pedal lyre to rest directly on the carpeting which in turn interfered with the action of the pedals. It was clear I couldn’t complete the hammer alignment until they were replaced. Bernard and I had looked at some “previously owned” casters during an earlier visit, and I could get some of them.

Using a Jack Screw as a pin block glue clamp

I also noticed that some of the hammer flange screws were still scraping on the pin block. This was likely a contributor to the action shifting problem. More planing on the pin block would help, but some laminations had separated from the bottom. They could be re-adhered with some CA glue, but how could I clamp them while the glue cured? Then I remembered the Jack Screw I had used 40 years earlier to restring the Weber. Originally used to support the pin block while pounding in tuning pegs, it could also act as a gluing clamp.

Wire bending or “smiling” pliers

I was looking forward to a day at Bernard’s shop, and ready for next steps after I adjusted the back checks with their “smiling pliers.” Looking over the action he wondered if I had “travelled and burned” the hammers and shanks. The look on my face must have been telling as the words floated into my ears and met with — nothing. Once again, Bernard had gently provided a reality check. There was more to do than I had realized.

“Traveling” ensures the hammers pivot along an arc that is perfectly parallel to each other. “Burning” ensures that the hammers are perfectly parallel when at rest. They are separate adjustments, but effect each other making the process iterative in nature. Celeste got me started.

Burning a hammer flange

Even though the new hammers were machine made and mounted, there were subtle misalignments. I couldn’t see them until Celeste pointed out the small twist in this or that hammer evidenced by being out of parallel. “Burning” corrects the problem by heating the hammer shank and then twisting the hammer into alignment. The heat gun is very hot, and is only applied for a couple of seconds at a time, but it is all that is needed. Amazingly, the hammers stay in the new alignment after just a few seconds of heating, twisting and cooling. I worked my way through the action.

Checking the hammers for travel

“Traveling” is a little more complicated. A long, thin piece of wood (like a ruler) is threaded under a bank of hammer shanks so that they can all be lifted together. As they move, one sights along each hammer, comparing it to the others.

Bottom of hammer flange with travelled adjustment

Any that “travel” to the right or left differently than their neighbors are adjusted by putting thin strips of material under the right or left side of the flange. This works by correcting small alignment errors in the hinge between the shank and flange — ensuring that the hammer travels true. It’s a little bit of a brain twister, because the material is applied to the underside of the flange. I got the hang of it pretty quickly. (no pun intended)

Grand back check regulator

It was finally time to adjust the back checks. Here, we want the tail of the hammer to be grabbed by the back check when the key is depressed, so the back check must be aligned left-to-right and front-to-back. Two tools are used: the “grand back check regulator” and the “wire bending pliers” (aka “smiling” pliers).

We finished the day by looking through Bernard’s caster collection. I considered buying new brass casters, but at $80 each, the $15 used models would be fine — especially since the Weber has “modesty” skirts around them. Not much would be visible. I selected three matching brass casters that would clean up with a little buffing. As I was leaving, I mentioned the challenge of adjusting one set of parameters on the action only to have previous adjustments change as well. Bernard assured me this was normal, and mentioned The Circle of Refinement. It was clear that I am just at the beginning of that circle.

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The grand back check regulator in action

Adjusting a back check with the Smiling Pliers

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Assembly and Adjustments

We were hosting a group of our pianist friends on Saturday, and I hoped to have the action back together and with luck, installed in the piano for a little preliminary “plunking”. Time was short!

Up to this point, everything was in pieces and as you’ve seen in previous posts:

The keyframe had been cleaned, sanded and given a new coat of shellac.

New felt and punchings were installed.

Pins were…

Weber Piano Action Rebuild – Key Leveling and Key Weights

Adding weights to the back checks

Back on track with the sharps refinish, let-off buttons and hammer rest repairs, I was looking forward to the last bits before reassembling the action: key leveling and key weights. In order to address key leveling, I had to first place a lead weight on each back check to simulate the presence of the rest of the action — with the ivory end forced up.

Paper…

Masking the ebony

I decided to tackle my least favorite task first. Refinishing the sharps. It had been on the list since May, and I couldn’t put if off any longer. A previous rebuilder had lacquered them, and the coating was worn in spots. Also, many pianists don’t like a slick lacquer finish and prefer natural wood — myself included. The sharps on the Weber are real ebony attached to the softer wood of the key so they were good candidates for an oil finish. I began by masking the keys with the ebony wood exposed. Then, an application of Jasco Paint and Epoxy Remover softened the lacquer so it could be scraped off. It doesn’t take long. Jasco should be used with adequate ventilation however, so I had to open the shop up to the summer heat. In the end, it took two applications of the finish remover to clean the sharps, followed by wiping them with mineral spirits to remove residue. A light sanding with 220 grit finished the cleanup process.

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Jasco at work – a gooey mess

Wiped clean, natural wood showing

Damage from years of use

Some pianists play very aggressively and their fingernails can dig out the softer wood below the ebony leaving a divot of unfinished wood. An application of Mohawk Epoxy Putty to the divot and then sanding it flat makes a great repair. The putty is tinted, but not perfectly black, so a final application of a black marker effectively hides the repair. Stripping and repairs done, two applications of Watco Danish Oil produces the final finish. Beautiful!

Damaged hammer cushions

The hammer cushions were next. Several of them had insect damage. Moths like wool felt! I didn’t want to replace all of them, but finding a wool fabric in a matching royal blue color had proven difficult. I spent a full day hunting for something similar online and in every fabric store in Austin. No luck. Finally in desperation I asked Bernard and Celeste about it. Naturally, they had a small scrap of a blue fabric that was a reasonable match. Let’s hear it for the “pack rats” of the world who save small bits of this and that!

After removing the damaged cushion covers from the keyboard, I cut strips of the precious cloth and attached them with animal glue. Not a perfect match, but good enough. From a distance, you can’t tell the difference.

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Applying new felt to hammer cushions

Good as new!

The next task was both easier and more fun. Earlier I had removed the old felt buttons from the let-off adjusters on the hammer rail. A bag of new felt buttons, a little hide glue, and the replacements were installed. It took less than an hour.

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A little glue . . .

. . . and attaching a new let-off button

It felt good to complete these lingering tasks. By the time everything dried overnight, it would be time to level the keys.

Applying Danish Oil