A Dapper Damper Job
Dampers usually make most technicians cringe. I know I've spent plenty of time fooling around with leaky dampers. Recently, I observed my good friend and mentor Paul Bruno install new damper felt on a Hamburg Steinway D.
The old adage of "you get what you pay for" is absolutely true with damper felt. Paul ordered a Hamburg D damper felt box directly from Steinway in New York and apparently it was worth every penny. Not only were the felts pre-sorted in order to exactly match the damper heads, but they were cut at just the right angle to match the slight angle of the front and back edge of the dampers heads. Nice!
Along with the damper felt, Paul installed new guide rail bushings in his own style. Typically manufacturers cut the felt to be flush with the rail but Paul likes "collars" on his guide rail felt. He eased them with a combination of tools including a fat mute wire handle, a thin mute wire handle, and a backcheck wire. For adjusting the damper wires themselves it was only parallel jaw pliers, round nose pliers, and skill.
After the felt installation and adjustments, Paul regulated the key lift , the damper tray lift, and finally the sostenuto rail (which is on the belly not the key frame). The final result is a damper job as good as the factory.
If you've done a damper job recently, leave a comment with your tips.
