'81 mark 2 action

[groover]

Hi guys,
I've come to the end of the restoration of my '81 mark 2 and i need some advice on the action. I've replaced all felts, hammer tips etc and the action still feels very sloppy. I just thought i'd try extra felt on the pedestal of a few keys to get more response (shown in the attachment) and it seems to work. It feels a bit sponge-y due to there being two felts on the end of the key, but i thought if this idea works i could replace the bottom felt with something harder to raise the top felt instead of just 2 layers of felt. Does anyone have any advice or other suggestions on tightening up the action, or let me know if you think my idea might work as a solution to this issue.
Thanks for any advice

[rhodesjuzz]

Normally you would use the miracle mod, but I'm not sure if that's possible on this kind of pedestal. Depending on your escapement you might want to lower the harp as well...

[Jenzz]

Hi .-)

What about the green felt strips near the front guide pins? Be shure that the key bottoms don't touch these, otherwise the stop-lock mechanism (pedestal / hammer-but interaction) at the pedestal end will not work properly, causing the hammer to wobble after the stroke... To avoid this, you have to add paper punchings on the balance rail Pins. Since these not regular punchings are not offered by any parts supplier, you have to make them your own...

This is common to most unserviced Mk2's with the full plastic keyboard. Because the balance rail pins are big in diameter, the felt washers on the pins are not as wide as usual and get more compressed over the years. This leads to a greater key downward travel, touching the felt Strip....

Jenzz

[rhodesjuzz]

Hi .-)

What about the green felt strips near the front guide pins? Be shure that the key bottoms don't touch these, otherwise the stop-lock mechanism (pedestal / hammer-but interaction) at the pedestal end will not work properly, causing the hammer to wobble after the stroke... To avoid this, you have to add paper punchings on the balance rail Pins. Since these not regular punchings are not offered by any parts supplier, you have to make them your own...

This is common to most unserviced Mk2's with the full plastic keyboard. Because the balance rail pins are big in diameter, the felt washers on the pins are not as wide as usual and get more compressed over the years. This leads to a greater key downward travel, touching the felt Strip....

Jenzz

Hi Jenzz

Might it be possible to widen the center hole with these http://www.vintagevibe.com/products/key-shims?variant=899462619 to make them suitable for the plastic key model?

--Roy

[Jenzz]

Hi .-)

Yes, you can use those, but you need a punching tool like shown in the pic...



regards, Jens

[Ben Bove]

Wondering if you can describe the action issue a little more precisely?  Sloppy can sometimes mean side-to-side movement, bouncy, not all keys feeling the same in weight, can't play quietly, etc.

Mark II plastic keys don't have bushing felts around the center guide pin, so there will be a little bit of side to side movement naturally.  Mark IIs also can sometimes have a pretty deep key dip.  This may be what is being alleviated when you try to add a second pedestal felt

[groover]

Thanks for the responses guys.

Wondering if you can describe the action issue a little more precisely?  Sloppy can sometimes mean side-to-side movement, bouncy, not all keys feeling the same in weight, can't play quietly, etc.

Mark II plastic keys don't have bushing felts around the center guide pin, so there will be a little bit of side to side movement naturally.  Mark IIs also can sometimes have a pretty deep key dip.  This may be what is being alleviated when you try to add a second pedestal felt

Its hard to describe but what i mean is.. the feel is clunky. Its not side-to-side movement or the others you suggested, although the keys are bouncy which i believe is inherent to the way these things are built... Its just more of a clunky feel. Sorry i know this description is not very helpful.
But alas... the suggestion of the balance rail felts being too compressed over time causing the keys to hit the front rail felt seems to be true in my case. I've added a metal washer which has lifted the keys just enough to lift the keys off the front rail felt when fully depressed, and now i'm getting a clean strike across the whole piano. So i'm happy with this mod. My question now is can i leave the metal washer on top of my shims and my felt or should i reverse it and put the washer on the bottom?

[Ben Bove]

It would probably be best to put them on the bottom in thinking that it might create some mechanical noise... but if it's quiet you may be able to leave it.