I got my first parts today! I am so excited! The history will have to go on hold while I talk about this.

The first job I decided to do was replace the damper felts. On this instrument, the dampers are on top of the strings, and fall by gravity. So they are easily accessible, without involving the rest of the machine.
Unlike the dampers on modern machines, which are generally rectilinear, these are wildly canted, each one, and has as many as six sides, requiring to be trimmed to fit the acute angle between the damper arm and the string, as well as to miss the swing of the adjacent dampers, which are each set at a slightly different angle.

Whew!

So, I am going to measure each one, with a protractor, and a fine ruler, and plot out each one on graph paper, before I cut it.

Oh, the parts? I got a strip of single string damper felt, and one of double string felt, and a set of flat felts, pre cut in graduated sizes. THen I got a felt cutter, like a little guillotine, don't stick your finger in there, kiddo, and since I needed $10 to reach the minimum purchase to avoid the $10 small purchase surcharge, I ordered two replacement ivories, to see how they would be. Very nice as it turns out, one is somewhat lighter than mine, but the other is almost the same shade of ivory.

Here is a tour of the damper assembly.




Well phooey, I took pictures of my new parts, and a couple close-ups of the first and last damper arms with the trimmed felts on them, but I can't seem to locate them on my camera. Piece of crap.

That's the news. I will take new pictures this weekend when I start working. I still have to get some tools, and this-n-thats, and I am not going to do anything until I get it figured out first. I have worked on machines all my life. This is an especially nice one. All the wood parts are in great shape, no warping in long thin pieces, It's just the fabric parts and the strings, that need replacement.

Update: The piano tuner came by last Friday, and tuned it to its pitch, about a half tone flat. None of the strings has gone wildly flat, which is a good sign. I will tune it again in a couple months. Unless I have replaced the strings by then. Paul Robinson, at Acme Piano in San Diego, told me that after this piano was built, improvements in engineering led to piano wire with significantly higher tensile strength, and that it would be best to find specialized string. He is on the look out for string for a square grand he is working on, and says he has a lead on a guy in England. So I may get new strings in a couple months. Also, wound strings need to be particularly built for each note, for each different piano.

Chat later.
Love you, mean it!