Model 206 questions

[Autistic Piano Guy]

Greetings from South Africa!

My friend brought me his newly acquired Wurly (from a storeroom at a university called Wits).
The only problem he had with it (after dealing with the electrics) was that the keys moved down when the sustain pedal was depressed and they couldn't be played. That was an easy fix - lubrication of all moving action parts 

Something about this Wurly:
Model 206. Serial 69893L.
Then the confusing part, because www.drwurli.com and www.drwurly.com, but maybe I misunderstood the model production dates :
Action date 15 November 1982 (21115299).
Keys date 10 November 1982 (21110088).
Roughly 11 months older than me

I felt some irregularities in the touch (key level, dip, lost motion, let-off and every other annoying mechanical grrr), which I told him about. My friend said he would like me try improve these things so that he doesn't have to worry about this later on down the road. He plays jazz.

Looking through the manual I found via Vintage Vibe:

• Key level is too high and impossible to make lower;
• Lost motion is either too little or too much;
• Irregular let-off;
• Key dip between 0.314in and 0.433in (8mm - 11mm)
• The reeds are not meant to point up and I can solder a sound cable better than whomever tuned this piano last
• Imperial measurements challenge me on the vernier, so I converted to metric. (My vernier does both.);
• Jack is now a fly;
• Whippen is just a whip.

All of the keys have a different feel to them!

I tried to regulate one key - the highest key (in a random place on the right, not in the middle as expected), that had no paper punchings under the foam punching. It led me down a rather frustrating rabbit hole.
I have since undone my changes, tried other keys and reverted those changes too.
The keys are all randomly balanced. One thing leads to another illogical result even after several passes, including leaving factory set mechanics alone.
And I'm really battling to put my thoughts into words.
(I have spent a few hours typing this.)

In a nutshell, I'm frustrated with this Wurly. I wish this were a Rhodes Mark II. I have had better tines with them...

What am I missing?
I'm most worried about the inconsistent lost motion between the keys.
The key leveling annoyed me because the keys would sink down as though there was no weight coming from the whip, but everything is smooth and I'm really suspect about those keys. Do I balance the keys with lead first?

I have tried so many different (undoable) things, but now I don't know how or where to begin. I need help, please.

[Autistic Piano Guy]

I see that the manual from Vintage Vibe and Tropical Fish say two different things about Lost-motion!
Which manual should I be following? Example: Should I remove all the lost motion as per description in the TF manual?

[pianotuner steveo]

Just like any acoustic piano, there should be a tiny amount of lost motion in a Wurli

[Autistic Piano Guy]

Thanks - I thought so but didn't know if I could treat this as an acoustic piano

Any chance of an answer or three for my original post Mr Steve, pretty please?

[pianotuner steveo]

Are you talking about lost motion in the backs of the keys or the jacks? Tiny bit should be at the tops of the jacks (nobody calls Jacks "flys" anymore), but not the keys to the whips.

If the backs of the keys are not touching the bottoms of the whips at rest, the capstans on the bottom of the whips need to be lowered to touch the keys. Also- letoff adjustment is the #1 action issue I see in Wurlitzers. The same tool adjusts both of those capstans, available on eBay. Do not worry about key height unless the fronts of the white keys get buried below the front of the case, or if the front of the sharps get buried below the neighboring white keys.

[pianotuner steveo]

Why do you think the solder on the reeds needs to point down? Only the earlier models were like that.

[Autistic Piano Guy]

I got flys from the service manual, as well as the orientation of the reeds.
Was a bit rigid in how I approached the piano, which was bad in a way I think?

Piano is back together again and besides one or two keys that randomly slip down (while still able to play just fine), it all works

Thanks for your help Mr Steveo!

[cinnanon]

Something about this Wurly:
Model 206. Serial 69893L.

That's 1972, not 82.

There is an order to all the steps in the manual. Make sure you follow those steps in completion before continuing and you should be fine. It took me many pianos before finally getting the process down.

[pianotuner steveo]

Yes, I agree. If you make action adjustments out of order, you can go around in circles trying to correct problems. Also, I'm not 100% sure, but solder blobs may have been turned to pointing up after your model was made, but I think pointing up is the way to go for slightly easier tuning.