Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Best treatment for slow falling hammers?

I'm not a tech, but I have 5 slow hammers that that fall with excessive friction.

I'm told that lubing the hammer flanges is usually not an option so if that's the case I plan to remove the hammers and take them to a tech to have them repinned.

Would repinning involve replacing the felt bushing as well?

Also I should mention that all 5 slow hammers are on the most commonly played keys, which are C, E, G (as the key of C is played hardest and most often) and I'm curious why.

Do hammers normally slow down through normal wear & tear this way?

It depends.



No. Tech comes to your place. You're not a tech, so don't mess with it.



Not necessarily. Either way, it's not a big deal.




No.

Assuming you are talking about the K&C grand listed in your sig and not a Steinway with teflon bushings, sluggish hammers can usually be eased successfully. First choice is CLP for me. You may also use an alchohol/water mix.

I use a vet syringe, which you can get at most farm supply places as a precision dispenser. A drop on each bushing will either work or not.

Where are you located? Maybe you could buy some CLP thru the mail here or from a tech and try that first. If the hammers are extremely tight, reaming and repinning is probably in order.

I guess I can first try the alcohol water mix. Will a 50/50 mixture of water and isopropryl alcohol work?

Alcohol and water could ruin those joints, if you do not know what you are doing.

Since you say you live in the middle of nowhere, the best course might be to take the offending shanks and flanges to a tech for service. Just be sure you've narrowed it down to those components, and that you are thoroughly familiar with how to remove the action without breaking anything.

If they are not falling excessively slow the CLP will likely help. Sometimes its enough, other times its not, or it ends up being temporary fix. Best to ream a bit out of the bushing and repin, not a big job for a tech. If your taking off multiple parts, number them with a pencil so everything goes back where it should. Pay attention to small bits of paper under parts when you remove, these can be there for alignment of travel.

Have you lifted the hammers by hand, with the action out of the piano, not using the key?

Have you checked key easing.

If the most frequently played keys are sluggish, I would be surprised that the flange bushings are the culprits.

Not enough info. You must provide more, videos, pictures.

Accprdeur, I did determine that the hammer flange friction is greater for those keys by raising the hammers by hand while the action was pulled out. The bad hammers dont fall as easily to the point where they contact the action.

However, I think I understand your point, in that without raising the hammers manually, it may appear that the action itself may be the culprit since the hammer will not completely come to it's final resting point easily when there is friction in the action assembly.

I'll work on a pic or video if that will help...

Good plan!

And hold the key up with one hand while lifting the hammer with the other.

A few weeks ago you determined that low C had a tight flange. What happened to it?

That low C has still not been fixed. There are 4 other keys like that now (all in the key of C). I did apply a couple swiffs of Elmers slide-all to one, but it didnt have any permanent effect. I could try alcohol (what kind?) and water, or order some protek online.

Ok here is a video of that low C key:

http://youtu.be/k5Cwr-FK9bY

Protek or repin for sure. Amazing how a picture or video is worth a thousand words! Thanks and all the best.

Any idea on why this hammer slowing is only happening to the most commonly played keys?

I have come across this a few times over the years: Korean pianos with seizing up hammer or damper flanges in the area of the piano where there is the most play. Sometimes I have examined the pins and found they have gotten rough. That's why no amount of lubrication seems to help in some of these cases.

If you are out in the middle of nowhere, you could send the offending hammers to a technician for repinning. Shipping wouldn't be that much. You could use a piece of mylar and a sharpie to mark the string imprints so you can get the hammers back in the exact same postion to avoid tonal problems.

So friction from the felt bushing can have that much of an abrasive effect on the metal pins? WOW.

Thanks for your feedback.

Sounds like a piano made by Samick or Young Shang. They often have this problem. Get a pianotech to re-pin the flanges.

I've never seen what Ryan described, but it's a good heads-up. I suspect the pins were of questionable quality, or the felt had some problems. Good felt won't wear out good pins.