Accessing Action Board on 81 Button Wheatstone McCann Duet

[Stephen Selby]

I need to access the action board of a 1910 Wheatstone McCann octagonal Duet with 81 buttons. From the back I can just see two medium screws securing the wrist block. So to access the action board, do I just unscrew the group of tiny screws on the metal ends? Any other advice from those who have done this? 

[Geoff Wooff]

No,  undo  those  medium  screws  on the inside face of the pallet  board   that  go through  into    the  hand rails  .  There will be another  one or two screws  that    secure  the hand  rails to the end  plates  so the rails should stay in place  when you lift  off  the  metal  ends .

Edited May 6, 2019 by Geoff Wooff

[Stephen Selby]

Thank you for your advice, Geoff, which was spot-on, of course!

 

On examining the action board, I find that it may have warped slightly, with the result that two or three key pegs have risen above the peg-holes so that they stick when pressed down. The solutions seem either (a) to build up the pad a bit, so that the key peg rests lower into the peg holes, or (b) to bend the lever arm to let the key down. Any advice would be welcome.

[Geoff Wooff]

Restorers  would  probably  bend the lever  arm a little  but  you may find  putting a leather  or cardboard  spacer between the  lever end  and the pad  is  less invasive.  I would not normally  expect  that a  warped  end  would cause  the    keys  to lift  out of their  location  holes  but on an 81 key McCann    I can imagine it.  

 

Good luck.

[Mike Acott]

The most likely cause of your problem is the pads have become compressed over tome , so the right cure is to 

r.eplace all the pads with new ones made of the right  materials.

[Stephen Selby]

I shall try it and let you know. The pads were replaced only five years ago. But where I live, the climate might have affected them. There's only a problem with three or four out of 81!