Our old piano had been stored for 5 years in our cold garage in the UK. Thanks to your advice, cleaning out the holes on the keys resolved the issue for 3 sticking black keys in the upper octave. I also managed to spot and resolve a few issues with misaligned hammers on the lower bass octave as well as straightening half a dozen bent damper lift wires. Many thanks for your expertise :)
Wow, thanks brother, you’re a professional in your field. Resolved my sticking key issue… found quarters and paper lips jamming keys. I have four kids of course.
I had wondered if sticky keys were related to humidity. I live in Colorado, which is usually dry, but we have have had an unusually wet summer here. I think the sudden moisture and rise in humidity and all of a sudden, some of my keys are sticking. Thank you for your informative videos! 👍😌🎹
Right off the bat the first thing you said help! I just got a new piano, and my 5th octave c keeps sticking on me. I got a zip tie, and put it in front of the key as I press downward, and I cleaned out a tiny amount of junk that allowed the key to no longer be stuck! I saw a slight rubbing mark on the very bottom of the key, so using a zip tie I was able to get in there and get it cleaned! Now I have a piano that works again! I've been playing piano for over 35 years and I had never experienced the key being stuck because it was too close to the front board!!
Thanks for your video. Question. I've got this piano where most of the black key get sticky to the white key. Not on the side but in the front. So if I press the black it doesn't come back because it gets stuck to the white key. How can I solve this problem?
The only time I’ve had that issue, and globally across all keys, is when I encountered an action whose keys had been recapped and not properly trimmed around the edges. I’ve also had a couple here and there grab like that when the center key rail pin had gotten bent toward the front of the piano which moved the black key front closer to the white key.
Hey , i have an old upright piano and i want to repair it a bit. I have trouble finding the key height rings and the dampers stopping the strings from vibrating after or even the whole thingy that stops it from vibrating because sometimes i press a key and the thingy moves and one string keeps vibrating and i need to readjust it again and again , can i do something about it or i need to buy new ones? Do you know where to find those in Europe? I live in Romania but any big store should work. Or the material they are made from , and if could make at least the rings home (like diy) Also , i see each key has a string , some of mine are bend in random directions , can i put any sort of a string , or it needs to be only designed for piano , i'm worried i could break it if i don't do it with the right components.
Thank you for watching! I would check with a supply house than can furnish parts to your part of the world. The string does need to be specifically for pianos. You may want to have a tech come and look at it, sounds like you have multiple issues.
Thank you for the detailed guide. I work in a school which has no technician and it's too bureaucratical for requesting service. Humidity here is pretty high. I got two Kawais k-200 with a global sticky key and/or hammer problem. Could the A/C help at all? I'm trying to buy dump chasers, but up until then, could a regular dehumidifier do the trick?
Hey Germano! In my experience with schools they have a hard time allowing piano teachers to keep the temperature where it needs to be for good humidity control. Pianos like to be at 45% relative humidity which is hard to achieve if the ac is kept too high. I highly recommend the idea of installing dampp-chasers. In uprights I use the 36-38A rod, which extends for installation in an upright, along with the H-D humidistat, which will keep it at 45%.
@@jimthesoundman8641 Assuming the brass flanges are in good condition it's essentially the same process. Those flanges are what keep the pin from spinning so as long as it's tight the pin should only be able to freely move in the bushing.
@@MrPianoTech And if the pin is too small, will that introduce side to side wobble? There aren't many that need new pins, but I figured I'd just put 19's in them and then if I notice wobble when reinstalling them, I can upsize them then. Is that a bad idea?
Good day. I Saw Your video and comes to me Just a question suddendly: how to fix a hammer when rebound? My piano has that trouble. Thanks You in advance
@@MrPianoTech it's not sticky , it's in a circular form around the pin,probably the felt then. Is the felt the reason why the keys don't come up after pushing them down?
@@joleneholmes6934 If it's under the front of the key then it's the front key bushing. It simply keeps the front of the key from bottoming out on the frame and is adjusted for key dip. It shouldn't make the key stick although it will stick there if the pin the felt is around (that goes up into the front of the key) gets twisted and is grabbing the inside of the key, or if the inside of the front of the key has swelled and is grabbing the pin. Can you tell if either that pin is twisted or if the front key hole is too narrow and is grabbing the pin?
Sorry for the late response, looks like youtube quit notifying me when comments are left. Sounds like a humidity issue. I'd say either the key needs easing or the hammer needs to be repinned.
How do you reduce the amount of force required to depress the keys? I purchased a piano recently and the store regulated and voiced the piano, but I have never played a grand piano that required so much force to depress the keys during regular playing. I believe that most grand piano actions are set so that approximately 50 grams of weight should be sufficient to depress the keys. My new piano is closer to 75 or 80 grams.
Sometimes it can be a matter of friction in the action. Key balance rails, center pins in the whippens and hammers can create enough drag to cause problems, as well as the front key bushings, especially if too much moisture is present. Key balance rail pins can lose their smoothness and cause a problem where polishing them helps. If all the components are moving freely the two main areas I look at are the letoff distance which should be about 2mm from the strings and lastly re-weighing the keys by replacing the key weights with new ones. That last one is a big job and doesn't need to be done very often but it may help. Without being able to lay hands on it myself those would be where I'd look.
VERY GOOD video thanks..but i had to stop watching because your camera goes in and out of focus causing my eyes to hurt!!! You gotta fix that as well as the piano!
that's an incredibly intense intro for piano servicing.
Our old piano had been stored for 5 years in our cold garage in the UK. Thanks to your advice, cleaning out the holes on the keys resolved the issue for 3 sticking black keys in the upper octave. I also managed to spot and resolve a few issues with misaligned hammers on the lower bass octave as well as straightening half a dozen bent damper lift wires. Many thanks for your expertise :)
Awesome! I'm glad the video helped!
Wow, thanks brother, you’re a professional in your field. Resolved my sticking key issue… found quarters and paper lips jamming keys. I have four kids of course.
Lol, nice. Yep, I’ve found all sorts of stuff in pianos deposited by children…and pets. Thank you for your kind words.
I had wondered if sticky keys were related to humidity. I live in Colorado, which is usually dry, but we have have had an unusually wet summer here. I think the sudden moisture and rise in humidity and all of a sudden, some of my keys are sticking. Thank you for your informative videos! 👍😌🎹
You're welcome, glad it helped!
Right off the bat the first thing you said help! I just got a new piano, and my 5th octave c keeps sticking on me. I got a zip tie, and put it in front of the key as I press downward, and I cleaned out a tiny amount of junk that allowed the key to no longer be stuck! I saw a slight rubbing mark on the very bottom of the key, so using a zip tie I was able to get in there and get it cleaned! Now I have a piano that works again! I've been playing piano for over 35 years and I had never experienced the key being stuck because it was too close to the front board!!
Awesome!
zip tie, a very simple tool that worked for me on a studio upright. thanks for this idea.
I love your pin box.
And thank you for sharing your expertise.
Cheers
Thank you for watching!
Excellent video......and SPOT on!
Thank you so much!
see copper and brass Jack springs and I guess steel jack springs what is the best material for jack springs?
Thanks for your video. Question. I've got this piano where most of the black key get sticky to the white key. Not on the side but in the front. So if I press the black it doesn't come back because it gets stuck to the white key. How can I solve this problem?
The only time I’ve had that issue, and globally across all keys, is when I encountered an action whose keys had been recapped and not properly trimmed around the edges. I’ve also had a couple here and there grab like that when the center key rail pin had gotten bent toward the front of the piano which moved the black key front closer to the white key.
Awesome info, thank you Michael!
You are very welcome!
Hey , i have an old upright piano and i want to repair it a bit. I have trouble finding the key height rings and the dampers stopping the strings from vibrating after or even the whole thingy that stops it from vibrating because sometimes i press a key and the thingy moves and one string keeps vibrating and i need to readjust it again and again , can i do something about it or i need to buy new ones?
Do you know where to find those in Europe? I live in Romania but any big store should work. Or the material they are made from , and if could make at least the rings home (like diy)
Also , i see each key has a string , some of mine are bend in random directions , can i put any sort of a string , or it needs to be only designed for piano , i'm worried i could break it if i don't do it with the right components.
Thank you for watching! I would check with a supply house than can furnish parts to your part of the world. The string does need to be specifically for pianos. You may want to have a tech come and look at it, sounds like you have multiple issues.
Gracias
Thank you for the detailed guide. I work in a school which has no technician and it's too bureaucratical for requesting service. Humidity here is pretty high. I got two Kawais k-200 with a global sticky key and/or hammer problem. Could the A/C help at all? I'm trying to buy dump chasers, but up until then, could a regular dehumidifier do the trick?
Hey Germano! In my experience with schools they have a hard time allowing piano teachers to keep the temperature where it needs to be for good humidity control. Pianos like to be at 45% relative humidity which is hard to achieve if the ac is kept too high. I highly recommend the idea of installing dampp-chasers. In uprights I use the 36-38A rod, which extends for installation in an upright, along with the H-D humidistat, which will keep it at 45%.
@@MrPianoTech Thanks for the advise! I'll keep the percentage in mind and try to regulate it. Here humidity gets easily around 90%...
@@GGMayer No problem! Yeah, that’s pretty high.
I have Billings flanges on a 1920 Cable-Nelson I'm rebuilding. How do I size pins properly for that? They don't get tight until you reinstall them.
@@jimthesoundman8641 Assuming the brass flanges are in good condition it's essentially the same process. Those flanges are what keep the pin from spinning so as long as it's tight the pin should only be able to freely move in the bushing.
@@MrPianoTech And if the pin is too small, will that introduce side to side wobble? There aren't many that need new pins, but I figured I'd just put 19's in them and then if I notice wobble when reinstalling them, I can upsize them then. Is that a bad idea?
@@jimthesoundman8641 That’ll work. I find most pins tend to be around size 20-21.5. Just ream the bushing accordingly.
Than you very much, you saved me from sticky keys!
Glad it helped, thank you for watching!
Thank you so much for these videos!
You’re welcome!
Thanks!
Thanks
Good day. I Saw Your video and comes to me Just a question suddendly: how to fix a hammer when rebound? My piano has that trouble.
Thanks You in advance
Hello Eduardo, thanks for watching! Does the key bobble and hit a few times quickly when you press the key?
Hi,from South Africa here,I have a question,is there supposed to be green stuff under the keyboard
Hello! Do you mean the felt under the keys or is it sticky green stuff on the pins?
@@MrPianoTech it's not sticky , it's in a circular form around the pin,probably the felt then.
Is the felt the reason why the keys don't come up after pushing them down?
@@joleneholmes6934 If it's under the front of the key then it's the front key bushing. It simply keeps the front of the key from bottoming out on the frame and is adjusted for key dip. It shouldn't make the key stick although it will stick there if the pin the felt is around (that goes up into the front of the key) gets twisted and is grabbing the inside of the key, or if the inside of the front of the key has swelled and is grabbing the pin. Can you tell if either that pin is twisted or if the front key hole is too narrow and is grabbing the pin?
One of my piano keys wouldn't reset when the sustain pedal is down. It doesn't have this issue if the pedal is released. What could be the cause?
Sorry for the late response, looks like youtube quit notifying me when comments are left. Sounds like a humidity issue. I'd say either the key needs easing or the hammer needs to be repinned.
How do you reduce the amount of force required to depress the keys? I purchased a piano recently and the store regulated and voiced the piano, but I have never played a grand piano that required so much force to depress the keys during regular playing. I believe that most grand piano actions are set so that approximately 50 grams of weight should be sufficient to depress the keys. My new piano is closer to 75 or 80 grams.
Sometimes it can be a matter of friction in the action. Key balance rails, center pins in the whippens and hammers can create enough drag to cause problems, as well as the front key bushings, especially if too much moisture is present. Key balance rail pins can lose their smoothness and cause a problem where polishing them helps. If all the components are moving freely the two main areas I look at are the letoff distance which should be about 2mm from the strings and lastly re-weighing the keys by replacing the key weights with new ones. That last one is a big job and doesn't need to be done very often but it may help. Without being able to lay hands on it myself those would be where I'd look.
Thanks Maestro!!
Thank you for watching!
🙏💜🌞
Don't press shift 5 times.
just let a professional tuner do this work.
VERY GOOD video thanks..but i had to stop watching because your camera goes in and out of focus causing my eyes to hurt!!! You gotta fix that as well as the piano!