REPLACING THE ACTION STACK BRASS RAILS
May 2009 was quiet in the workshop so a start was made on the action of the piano.We intend to completely rebuild it as this part of the piano seemed to have suffered most from the many years of wear and tear.
In a Steinway the action comprises of a keybed which is a frame on which the keys are located. On top of which is the action stack which is made up of a metal frame to which the whippens and the hammers are attached.
The action frame design is unique to Steinway pianos and is still used today. There are 3 rails one for the row of hammers, one for the whippens and one for the let off adjustment buttons.This can be seen in the middle picture where the hammers and whippens have been removed just leaving the 3 rails. These are made of brass in hollow section.Inside the square tube there is a hardwood core which holds the screws that attach the hammer assembly and whippen assembly.Due to atmospheric changes the hardwood core can swell causing the brass section to split.Our piano had not escaped this serious problem as can be seen from picture 3.Two of the rails had split in places but we decided to replace all 3.Many 'restorers' overlook this issue because replacing them involves highly skilled work. A split rail is structrally weaker and can flex on hard playing. This can result in a loss of power in the sound and can also upset the geometry of the action.
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YOUNGS PIANO SHOWROOM
101 BRIAR MEADS
OADBY
LEICESTERSHIRE LE2 5WE TEL. 0116 272 1500 or 0116 279 3618
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email youngs.pianos@virgin.net THE COMPLETE PIANO SPECIALIST SERVING THE MIDLANDS AND BEYOND
