The Regulation Station
The Regulation Station suite of tools and accessories by Christopher Brown is now available at tprtools.com or by contacting Chris at 978-486-0610. These tools are designed to bring greater access, accuracy, and efficiency to assembling and regulating grand piano actions, while lessening some of the traditional headaches associated with this work.
Precise references from the piano are made available on the bench, including the location of string heights along the strike line, keyframe support that matches that of the keybed, and the information needed to square action parts to vertical.
Work done in the Regulation Station will perform as expected in the piano. Keys can be squared, spaced, leveled, and dipped in good light and at a good height. Facilitated by a Whole Action Template held over the action by the Regulating Rack, operations such as let-off and drop can proceed from one end of the action to the other, without the need for additional sampling or repeated set-ups. And regulating in the Regulation Station requires only skills, procedures, and tools already in hand. The inexperienced technician has good references as a teacher and the experienced technician has traditional obstructions removed from the pathways.
To aid in the translation from piano to benchtop, string heights are taken with the String Height Gage from a straight rail and then implemented on the bench with this gage from the same rail. The action is bedded in the piano first and then the bench is "bedded" to the action through the Custom Keybed.
The Squaring Platform provides a level surface from which hammer shanks can be traveled vertically with the Shank Traveler and hammer heads squared vertically with the Hammer Square. From this platform also, the Hammer Hanging and Voicing Station allows meticulous and fast installation of new hammer heads at strike. It also serves as the ideal voicing fixture, with robust support for the hammers being voiced and for the arms of the voicer, reducing fatigue and promoting accuracy.
There are layers of interlocking benefits to the Regulation Station system. An environment is created on the bench (or piano lid, with Lid Mats), conducive to quick and precise work. Maximizing the compliance of parts to verticality lays the foundation for trouble-free regulating and successful voicing. And the ability to run accurate samples in the early stages of a job assures that the parts and materials chosen will fit and the resultant geometry work.
Also, please note that these Regulation Station tools have merit on their own (or in partial combination) and can provide worthy service without the rest of the system.
If you have any questions, please contact Chris.