Regulation Jig Manufactured by: Michael Zarate Date: 5/4/14 The following jig allows you to duplicate the string height of a grand piano on a work bench. Therefore when replacing hammers, or restoring an action, it will help you not only to regulate the action at your shop location but it also accelerates the process since you do not have to keep sliding the action in and out of the piano which is very labor intensive. Note: for final regulation, or concert level regulation it is always recommended that the piano action be regulated in the piano. However since actions with new parts require several regulations for speed and calculated accuracy a regulation jig is recommended. Note: The whole frame is constructed with hard maple wood for stability and longevity.

Sring height adjustment knobs

String height position

Carring handle

Weighted back support

Hammer blow distance, letoff, drop, checkoff guide

Adjustable knobs

Black background for good contrast with white hammers and guage

Procedure for using the regulation jig This jig should be used in combination with a string height measuring tool, “The Piano Action Handbook” written by Randy Potter, and pre-measured blocks to set the front panel which is then used to set various adjustments in the piano action regulation procedure.

With the string height measuring tool string height at the end of each string section should be measured and documented.

This documented information is then transferred to the jig.

Height indicator

Height adjustment knobs

Randy Potters Piano Action hand book provides specifications for many brands and models of pianos.

On the underside of the string height adjustable rail there are two very strong magnets.

Magnets

For every piano blocks of variable thickness will be made for adjusting the front panel to measure blow distance, lettoff, drop, and checkoff. Note: pianos of different makes and models all have different specifications for regulation.

These blocks are then magnetically attached to the bottom of the string height adjustment rail so that the front panel can be set to the correct height requirement.

Blow Distance 1 3/4"

String height Adjustment knobs

Letoff adjustment

In the following illustration you can see how well the solid black background of the jig allows great visability of the hammers for proper adjustment.

History that’s behind the development of this jig This jig is a modified version of an original that was designed by Paul Manochino. Paul Manochino is known for his lifetime dedication to the manufacturing of Americas finest pianos “Mason Hamlin”. Paul has devoted many years of his life towards teaching many aspects of piano action work. Paul is loved very much by the piano technical community for all that he has shared with others. A guess on my part is that Paul must have made the first version that’s shown in the following illustrations possibly more then 40 or years ago. I would like to thank Paul for all his stories and for being the first to design this wonderful tool. A few years back Paul gave the following jig to Mark Burgett who’s also dedicated many years of his life toward teaching PianoDisc technology to technicians from all corners of this planet. At this point I would also like to thank Mark Burgett for allowing me to analyze Paul’s original jig so that this new jig could be then developed from those original ideas. Mark and I work together at PianoDisc and I would like to thank him as well for being a wonderful mentor and for sharing his knowledge throughout all the years we have worked together. The following is a picture of Paul’s original.

Having worked in several factories for piano manufacturing, throughout the years I have seen many different methods for working on regulation of piano actions. I have seen large permanent installations for high level output manufacturing as well as regulation benches that are designed for portability with PianoDisc production line installations. However the idea behind this jig came from an idea that was originally inspired by Paul Manochino of portability in being able to travel from location to location. With this in mind and with a need for its usefulness (necessity is the mother of invention), I decided I should invest some effort to not only duplicate this wonderful tool but to find it’s shortcomings, and improve on its functionality, by adding furthermore a number of other applications then the one that was intended for the original design. To make it more stable by adding more weight for counter balance, to add a background that would serve as a good contrast, by adding a way to gauge the adjustments that are to be made, a handle for east transportation, knobs that adjust more precisely, etc…

Construction of the jig The following are pictures I took during the construction process. In the following illustrations you will see the process of how I made the base.

Note in the picture above: There is a right side and left side. After the base pieces were cut and routered the sides were attached.

Notches were cut in the wood so that the rails and holding handle can be attached to make the frame.

The back counter support part of the base was routered out and BBs were added to create more weight. Glue was then added so they would stay put and not make noise. Then a top piece was added.

After the bottom half was routered it weight 11.6oz.

After the BBs were added the total weight increased to 27.8oz

After the glue was pored this increased the weight to 30.1. Almost 3 times the original weight. With the top piece It came out to 42oz.

All the frame joints maple dowels were used for reinforcement.

A finish was applied and the parts were then glued all together.

The adjustable section of the jig was then cut and pieced together for assembly.

The whole jig was then assembled.

Final shape was then given to the back part of the base.

The following are some final pictures I took. You will notice that there are still some minor details I must touch up with the finish. This details will be finalized when I revise this documentation at a later date.