The Piano Pounder

In new pianos, and in pianos rebuilt with new felt, a certain amount of settling in happens that changes the regulation settings.
As the new felt compresses during playing, the regulation of the action and keyboard changes, making the initial settings inaccurate.

To compensate for this "breaking in" period, I designed and built this machine which plays all the white keys, and then all the black keys over and over again up to 6000 times, with weight. After using this machine, the piano can be finely regulated with a degree of confidence that the hours spent in adjustment will not be wasted.

The model of pounder shown was built specially for Robert Lowrey's Piano Experts of Toronto, Ontario. My sincere thanks to: Robert Lowrey, Don Sevier, and Nicolai Sevir, for playing a big part in the creation of this particular machine.

The plans to build this machine as well as limited technical support are available for $200.00 + $10.00 G.S.T.

The Pounder by Jamie Musselwhite

In new pianos, and in pianos rebuilt with new felt, a certain amount of settling in happens that changes the regulation settings. As the new felt compresses during playing, the regulation of the action and keyboard changes, making the initial settings inaccurate. To compensate for this "breaking in" period, I designed and built this machine which plays all the white keys, and then all the black keys over and over again up to 6000 times, with weight. After using this machine, the piano can be finely regulated with a degree of confidence that the hours spent in adjustment will not be wasted. The model of pounder shown was built specially for Robert Lowrey's Piano Experts of Toronto, Ontario. My sincere thanks to: Robert Lowrey, Don Sevier, and Nicolai Sevir, for playing a big part in the creation of this particular machine. The plans to build this machine as well as limited technical support are available for $200.00 + $10.00 G.S.T.
NOTE: Normally, a grand action is pounded with the action removed from the piano and attached to a low bench with the hammers raised up. In an upright, the hammers are made to lie against the strings by using a length of foam inserted between the hammers and the hammer rest rail. The pounding action that has been filmed is shown as a demonstration only.
	This is the "front" of the pounder, the side that faces the keyboard.
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	This is the back view, with the pounder positioned to play.
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	This view, with the case parts removed, shows the basic structure of the machine: The frame made from square steel tubing welded together, the pounder bars, their arms, and the axle to which they are connected, and the lower cam shaft.
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	Here you can see how the arms and pounder bars are connected, as well as a good view of the axles. You can also see the large wooden knob which turns the camshaft to allow the setting of the height of the pounder bars.
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	If you look closely, you can see the small leaf springs and the catch on the bottom of the pounder arms which, when engaged, increases the weight of each blow from just the weight of the arms, to the added tension of the springs.
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	The springs are mounted onto a hinged piece of oak which is moved by the steel bar standing upright above the top of the machine. This bar can be engaged at different strength settings by locking it in place on a length of angle iron cut-out with notches.
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	This rear view shows the Cam shaft (with cams cut out from Delignit), the low speed motor salvaged from a wet grinder, and the timer switch (turned all the way, the pounder will run for a full hour, playing the keys approximately six thousand times.)
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	A close-up up the Camshaft viewed from the front.
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	The blueprints, and technical advice on building and operating this machine are available for $200.00 + $10.00 G.S.T.
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