Hammer Action on Upright

[theholygideons]

My upright piano is getting old, and the keys aren't rebounding as fast as they used to. What could be the cause for this? Which part of the hammers do I check to see if anything has become lose or non-responsive. I don't want to hire a piano maintenance guy if it's just a minor issue. 

[pianist1976]

The next time you'll tune your piano, I wold ask the technician to revise and regulate all the action. Some screws and/or springs could have loosen. Which ones? Hard to know. Anyway I think it's good to do a complete revision from time to time.

I wouldn't do a DIY regulation without been an expert or getting the advice of a person who knows what's doing in place. My technician doesn't charge an extra fee for a regulation when tuning my piano.

This is a (I think) very good video about the pieces regulated on an upright piano:

[theholygideons]

The next time you'll tune your piano, I wold ask the technician to revise and regulate all the action. Some screws and/or springs could have loosen. Which ones? Hard to know. Anyway I think it's good to do a complete revision from time to time.

I wouldn't do a DIY regulation without been an expert or getting the advice of a person who knows what's doing in place. My technician doesn't charge an extra fee for a regulation when tuning my piano.

This is a (I think) very good video about the pieces regulated on an upright piano:

Ah motherf*cker, the last time I hired a technician to check my piano's action, he barely did much to attempt to fix the rebounding action of my keys, all he did was sand off the edges of the keys to reduce the friction, which obviously wouldn't make that much of a difference. He didn't even do a fraction of what is mentioned in the video you posted. Looks like it's time to find a decent technician.

[hfmadopter]

Ah motherf*cker, the last time I hired a technician to check my piano's action, he barely did much to attempt to fix the rebounding action of my keys, all he did was sand off the edges of the keys to reduce the friction, which obviously wouldn't make that much of a difference. He didn't even do a fraction of what is mentioned in the video you posted. Looks like it's time to find a decent technician.

The video shows what might be done overall on reassembly after full regulation and maybe even replacement of some parts. It's rare a tech would get into that many aspects of regulation in a general tuning. It's more likely they would adjust a few screws, do a little sanding etc. But if everything is sticky and sluggish acting then you need an assessment first anyway.

[theholygideons]

The video shows what might be done overall on reassembly after full regulation and maybe even replacement of some parts. It's rare a tech would get into that many aspects of regulation in a general tuning. It's more likely they would adjust a few screws, do a little sanding etc. But if everything is sticky and sluggish acting then you need an assessment first anyway.

So what would you suggest I do next time? The tuner said he couldn't find anything wrong with the hammers, but I've played on a lot of uprights, and they all feel less sluggish than the piano I have at home.

[hfmadopter]

So what would you suggest I do next time? The tuner said he couldn't find anything wrong with the hammers, but I've played on a lot of uprights, and they all feel less sluggish than the piano I have at home.

Some older uprights ( not saying yours is old since I don't know that) do have slower action than modern ones FWIW. Even so nothing should be sticking. I think I would try another tech. I did that many years ago and ended up buying a grand piano, since after three different techs my old upright just did not repeat fast enough ! More to the point, the tech you have may be missing working on some feature of your action and some are just lazy and don't want to get into it. So I would start there.

[indianajo]

I've played a lot of uprights between 40 and 100 years old.  
Most don't get slower based on age.  Sometimes one key will be affected by humidity or room temperature, and that key may need technical work.  Most often, the leather return straps break, or the tuning goes way out.
But in general, pianos are fast or slow based on what parts were built with.  Pre WWII, piano parts were made by wholesale jobbers, so the name on the front or the casting mark may have nothing to do with the quality, except for a few historic brand names.  What has a lot to do with it, IMHO, is what quality wood they were made of.  What tree, what kiln treatment, how long it was stored for stability before the parts were worked out of the wood.  What kind of felt was used. 
I test pianos by taking the fingers of two hands, and hitting a single note over and over as fast as possible.  If I can't outrun the action, that piano is a candidate for purchase.  In the 1910-1950 uprights, some of them are surprisingly good.  
I wouldn't spend a lot of money on regulation by a tech unless you have a problem with one key. The tech that tuned  my 1982 piano in 1984-6 (from the Steinway dealership) was an idiot when it came to fixing one string that wouldn't stay tuned on a piano I got a discount on.  I've seen much better ideas on the internet than the stupid electric humidifier he installed, which improved nothing.
I would cruise the charity resale shops over a couple of months, to find a better piano for $75.  Then spend $200 to get it moved and another $200 in several tunings up to pitch  ( or do the first 4-6 tunings yourself).