Piano Tuning | Page 9

jaws of flange.
U. Hammer Butt.
V. Center Pin.
W. Hammer Stem or Shank.
X. Hammer Head.
Y. Hammer Felt. Treble hammers sometimes capped with buckskin in
old instruments.
TOP ACTION OF SQUARE PIANO.
1. Damper Lifter Wire.
2. Damper Lifter Buttons.

3. Damper Felt.
4. Damper Head.
5. Damper Lever.
6. Damper Leads.
7. Shade, supported by wire stanchions, on top of which are screwed
shade buttons.
8. Damper Rail. Tilted by Loud Pedal Rod which raises all the dampers
simultaneously.
9. Damper Flange.
10. Flange Screw.
11. Damper Lever Center Pin.
THE TRAP ACTION
consists of Pedals, Pedal Braces, Pedal Feet, Pedal Rods, Roller Boards
or Elbows, Studs, Plugs, Trap Springs, Wires and Lifter Rods.
The cut is from the French action. Nearly all square pianos in use at the
present time are of this type.
The hammer rail in the square, in addition to serving its purpose as a
rest for the hammers, also serves the purpose of the regulating rail, as
you will see the regulating screw, with its button, attached to it. This
rail is stationary in the square, not moving toward the strings and
shortening the stroke as it does in the upright when the soft pedal is
used. The soft pedal in the square piano simply interposes a piece of
felt between each hammer and its corresponding string or strings. This
felt being much softer than that of the hammers, the tone is greatly
subdued.
The mechanical arrangement of the dampers is very different in the

square from that in the upright. The dampers are above the strings.
Instead of springs to hold them against the strings, they simply rest
upon them with their weight. In many old squares some of the dampers
fall upon nodal points, causing defective damping or harmonic
after-tones.
The stationary parts of the square action are: action frame, to which is
secured the balance rail, balance pins and guide pins, hammer rail,
flange rail, and damper rail. When the key is struck, the parts that move
upward are: the back end of the key, bottom, jack, hammer, back check,
damper wire and damper lever. The hammer falls back upon the back
check immediately after striking, and remains there until the key is
released, when all movable parts fall to rest position.
The action of the jack is the same in all types.
ACTION OF THE GRAND PIANO.
After thoroughly going over the details of the action of the square and
upright pianos, there remains very little to describe in the action of the
grand.
The grand action partakes of the characteristics of both the upright and
the square, and is somewhat more complicated than either.
The bottom and extension are almost identical with those of the upright;
the extension, however, is necessarily very short.
The wippen is of different construction, and somewhat more
complicated in the grand.
The flange rail in the grand is made also to serve the purpose of
regulating rail, as the hammer rail is made to do in the square.
The back check is identical with that of the square.
The dampers are the same in their working principles as those of the
square, but are generally different in construction; yet, some squares

have the same arrangement of dampers as those shown in the cut of the
grand action.
The soft pedal of the grand shifts the entire action to the right so that
the hammers strike only two and in some cases only one of the strings.
The student should study the three types of actions from the actions
themselves, if possible.
[Illustration: ACTION OF THE GRAND PIANO.]
ACTION OF THE GRAND PIANO.
1. Indicates the felt, cloth or leather, upon which the various parts of
the action rest, or fall noiselessly.
2. Key.
3. Bottom; sometimes called Key Rocker.
4. Extension; split at lower end to receive center pin in Bottom.
5. Wippen Support.
6. Jack.
7. Jack Spring.
8. Flange and Regulating Rail.
9. Regulating Screw, Button and Cushion.
10. Escapement Lever.
11. Regulating Screw in Hammer Flange, for Escapement Lever.
12. Check Wire, for Escapement Lever.
13. Screw to regulate fall of Escapement Lever.

14. Lever Flange, screwed to Flange Rail.
15. Hammer Shank.
16. Hammer.
17. Back Check.
18. Damper Lever, leaded.
19. Damper Wire, screwed into upright.
20. Damper Wire Guide, fastened to Sound-Board.
21. Damper Head and Felt.
0. Center Pins. Holes lined with Bushing Cloth.

INSTRUCTIONS FOR REMOVING THE SQUARE AND GRAND
ACTIONS.
First, feel or look underneath the keyboard and see if there are screws
that go up into the action. In most of the better grade instruments the
action is fastened in this way. If the screws have square heads, your
tuning hammer will fit them and bring them out; if common screws, a
screw-driver will suffice.