PHOTOS
Click on the Steinway Grand action for animation.
The hammers move through an arc as they move toward the string.
The keys move through an arc as they are depressed and then released.
Likewise pedals are working in an arc.
All moving action parts pivot from a center point that creates an arc.
Got Pencils?
If you find yourself short of pencils or pens, they could be just behind the fallboard of your Grand Piano.
On some pianos it is feasible for the customer to remove the fallboard with some instruction.
Pencils, etc. can actually cause a note to malfunction by getting jammed against a key or whippen.
In that case the culprit should be removed soon.
It is best to not force a key that is not functioning properly.
Here is a view of a keybed with the keyframe lifted up showing some common items found.
Since the keyframe is supposed to slide smoothly
across the keybed, these foreign objects don't help matters.
The above shows some basic cleaning of a grand piano's back rail cloth.
When debris accumulates on the cloth, the key height can be affected.
The back of the key comes up and the front of the key goes down.
In cleaning the front rail, one has to be careful not to
vacuum up any felts. A brush attachment is safe to use. It is not
much fun to try and retrieve felt from one's vacuum cleaner.
Clicking on this image will take you to a Steinway schematic
You can then zoom in on various areas of the piano
Click on the photo below to see how the hammer spring cords or threads are stressed with the hammer in motion.
This photo is of a Yamaha vertical. I have replaced the hammer flanges which include the new white cords.
The older brown cords are often found broken which means that the spring fails to aid in returning the hammer.
These white threads appear to be more durable and I would expect them to last a long time. I hope this animation
doesn't make you dissy; I was holding my camera rather than using a tripod.
Credits for the image below go to Nasa and the Hubble Heritage Team Nasa STSci/Aura
I used this photo as a backgound in my calling card
Click on the image for a larger photo
