Revitalising felts

[lpt100]

Our church piano has a over damped sustain systemy thingy. And its in a work inefficient. The felts of the dampeners touch the strings only lightly and they dont stop the reverberation of the string of when the pedal or key is released. The flets themselves are still intact but look a bit tired. Is there any way to revitalise them on a buget? Thanks

[Barrie Heaton]

Overdampers don’t damp very well when the are working However, there are ways to improve them. The felt is an end grain felt and over time the ends of the felt get flattened (think of a soft tooth brush over time the bristles go out of shape) – you can use a an old tooth brush to brush the felt with upward strokes this has two effects brings up the hairs of the felt and softens it up, you will have to tilt the action out a bit to expose the dampers. Ovoid taking the action out unless you know the tapes are fine as you can have great fun trying to get it back in and do more damage that you started with

If the overdamper has a central locking nut along the bar that can be adjusted to pull the dampers in a little more Sometimes I fit one if there is not one present not a big job and could be done by someone with moderate DIY skills

Barrie,

[Gill the Piano]

The first thing I usually check is that the action is in place correctly; in a place like a church, where pianos often get shunted around, the action can sometimes get dislodged, especially if it only has a brass hook either end of the action to hold it in position.(Overenthusiastic pedalling can sometimes cause the action to wander a bit, too.) Make sure these are properly in place and the action is hard up against the strings. If it is, then Barrie's suggestion about a central locking nut is the best solution. Good luck!