Balance/Front rail felt woes..

[Jams]

So I ordered the full refurbish kit from vintage vibe, and because of my excitement I dismantled the rhodes before receiving it.  I took out the rail felts because they were a black color instead of green, but thought for some reason that new ones were coming with the kit.  They got disposed of before I realized that they were not w/ the kit.  I need to order some new ones, but I don't know what size I will need. 

Does anyone know what thickness of balance rail and front rail felts I should need for a 1977 fender rhodes?  I have the whole refurb done except for this part...   uggh..  about how many paper shims should i have under each key on the balance rail?

rhodes headache abound..   

[Cormac Long]

I replaced all of mine and used medium thicknesses of each. Based on VV specifications, this was .08" for balance rail felts and 3/16" for the front rail. In terms of the paper shims, you need an assortment of thicknesses to assist you in getting an even balance.

I got my felts and shims from take-note.co.uk, a generic piano parts supplier in the UK which well suited my European base. It was much cheaper this way. Others have used vandaking.com in the US as a cheap source for these type of parts, including bridle straps.

I could be wrong here, but I don't think you need to get an exact match to the thicknesses of the original felts. When I received my medium felts, they matched my originals exactly. So I would assume a medium thickness all round is a good choice.

[Fred]

I agree with Cormac that the medium thickness is a good place to start. Rhodes never specified a dimension for key height, and this varies from one piano to another.

  Start by replacing all the balance (and front) rail felts and re-install your keys. Now, check the highest key's relation to the namerail. There should not be an excessive gap, and the namerail should not push any keys down once re-installed. Use assorted paper punchings to establish key height of several keys across the board, then match the others to those reference points.   

  The front rail felt is only there to prevent excessive key flexing under heavy blows. Make sure there is about a 1/16" gap between the bottom of the key and the front rail felt once the key has been fully depressed and "stop-lock" (key pedistal "locked" against hammer cam) is achieved. If the key sits very high over the front rail felt, then the felt can be shimmed to bring it up closer to the key. Good luck!