Kemble 6 octave sustain pedal problem

[samuelodell]

Hi All,

I have a Kemble 6 octave, 85 key small piano - from the 60s! Its a lovely thing, bright sound. The only problem is..
The sustain pedal did not work when pushed down. It lifted the hammers off the strings slightly, but not enough to make any sort of sustain sound. I tightened everything under the pedals etc, no effect.

So... I stuck a pen lid on the end of the rod to lift the lever higher, so now, when fully pressed, there is a good sustain. The problem now is: the pedal is amazingly stiff and unresponsive as it is always pushing the lever up a bit. To push it down fully is too hard to be playable.

The lever the rod goes to was topped with a rubber tip, which had eroded, so before the rod would scrape off the lever. There was no hole in the lever for any kind of rod with pin in it.

My quesiton is - do I try to replace the rod tip? do I try to replace the rod and or the lever?

LASTLY: CAN THIS ALL BE FIXED BY A TECHNICIAN TWEAKING SOMETHING ELSE? IS THERE ANY OTHER WAY TO FIX THE SUSTAIN BY TWEAKING?

thanks!

[Gill the Piano]

Take the bottom door off, follow the sustain pedal backwards into the piano and you'll see a nut atop a long bit of wood. Tighten that (lefty loosey, righty tighty) and keep testing the sound/feel until you get the desired result.

[samuelodell]

I've tried that Gil,
That was the first port of call. No joy.
Made no difference whatsoever.

Sam

[samuelodell]

Tried that Gil, it made no difference.
I fear it is structural - deep within the bowels of the machine/ rods/levers
thanks

Sam

[Barrie Heaton]

Could be the U spring coming away from the bottom board

Barrie