Abstract Replacement

Focus On: Replacing Abstract Felts in the Console Piano One cause of a noisy, clattering action in a well used console piano is the wear-and- tear that the felts of the action are subjected to. In particular, the abstract felts which serve as a buffer between the brass capstan at the back of each key and the wooden levers and parts of the upper portion of the action are particularly worn and compacted. T o help quiet the action of your piano, replac- ing these worn felts (as seen in the top photo) with new, high-quality abstract felt would be an important step. For this job to be successfully com- pleted it is usually necessary to transport the action of the piano to the shop. With the ac- tion secured upside-down on the bench, the old abstract felts are carefully removed. De- spite the amount of wear-and-tear on these felts, they typically are glued very firmly to the bottom of the wippens, and take a consid- erable amount of time to scrape loose, as seen in the opposite top photo. When the old felts have been removed and the undersides of the wippens cleaned, new high-quality abstract felt is carefully glued into place. These felts are glued at the front and the back, but not in the center, so that the transmission of sound between the brass capstans and the wooden parts of the action is kept to a minimum. Once the new felts are installed and the action is replaced in the piano, adjust- ments will need to be made to the regulation of the action to compensated for the increase in thickness of the felts. In particular, the brass capstans will most likely to be adjusted for the action to function properly. The Piano Owner's Heads-Up Guide to Important Piano Maintenance - Jema Pianos