Category Archives: Technical

Short articles on various aspects of repair, maintenance, tuning, voicing, etc.

New Steinway Shanks & Hammers

Posted on July 16, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

New shanks & hammers for a 1980 Steinway B model grand meant first sorting them via the tap test. This uses similar skills to selecting each plank of  tone wood for the soundboard, by tapping each shank against a finger … Continue reading →

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Another Strike

Posted on July 10, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Talking of strike lines (talking of the wolf, as they say in France), here are 2 more Steinway strike lines – adjusted from the dead straight to the alive curved – simply for the sake of sound… This one is … Continue reading →

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Steinway Hammer Strike Position

Posted on May 31, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Once everything – regulating, tuning, voicing – is done, then the hammer strike position can be checked and, if necessary, moved. Just as plucking the strings on a guitar in various positions along their length produces a varying tone (close … Continue reading →

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Steinway String Spacing

Posted on May 14, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

In the Capo Tasto sections, strings must be aligned with their corresponding hammers. As long as the Capo Tasto has been correctly shaped and smoothened before re-stringing, the strings (even under tension) can easily be tapped left/right with a suitable … Continue reading →

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Steinway String Levelling

Posted on May 14, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Once re-strung, the adjustments begin: Levelling the unisons is vital for hammer strike and damper seating. Using a stringing hook, each string is lifted enough to correct the residual string wire curvature, releasing the pressure towards its agraffe. A metal … Continue reading →

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Steinway Capo Tasto

Posted on May 9, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

The Capo Tasto (plate pressure bar) is central to Steinway’s bright, open treble. When re-stringing, it’s thus essential to re-dress the actual pressure points along the Capo Tasto. This close-up pic shows (not very well reflected in the small mirror) … Continue reading →

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Fazioli Hammer Re-profile

Posted on April 29, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Time to re-shape the hammers on this Fazioli 228. Also, the client needed a brighter, richer sound – so re-profiling the heads exposes a deeper, harder layer of felt, as well as creating an appropriately narrow and thus accurate striking … Continue reading →

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Boesendorfer Damper Re-fit

Posted on April 19, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Re-fitting the dampers on this Boesendorfer… See the perfect and shiny new strings! Also, spot the cranking block and half-blow transfer block – both tools from my days at Steinway Hamburg. I still have the same damper felt trimming scissors, … Continue reading →

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Boesendorfer – New Bass Strings

Posted on April 19, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Just loosening off the old bass strings. See the 2 to the left – they look new when turned over, but sound old: It is time to renew them. I use strings made by John Delacour. John always calculates the … Continue reading →

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Boesendorfer Re-stringing

Posted on April 11, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Re-stringing a piano in situ is always a bit awkward… …but there’s plenty of room to set up all the tools  for this one. If the soundboard or bridge don’t need repairing, I always re-string in sections (or, in this … Continue reading →

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