Our new Hallet Davis grand piano was delivered yesterday. And by "new" I mean it has been in the dealer's showroom for about eight months since he received it from the factory.

Anyway it sounded and played perfectly when it arrived, just as it had the many time I played it in the showroom. Then about six hours later the D key adjacent to middle-C began to return just halfway back up after being played. Actually, if played hard and briskly it will pop all the way up but it is sluggish. The damper does re-engage even when it stays halfway down.

This is no big deal, right? I'll call the dealer when he opens this morning and ask him to come out. But given its new environment and as changeable as our weather has been this week, no surprise that one key might develop a bit of a bind, correct?

Moving and change in environment and new piano with things still settling can result in sticking. It is no big deal, and the dealer should send someone out. With a Hallet Davis, it's likely easing a key, or possibly a tight hammer flange. You can try moving the key up and down while pressing it gently from side to side. That may free up a tight front rail bushing.

Bob,

The tech and I arrived at my house simultaneously so I didn't get to try your suggestion. It was indeed the from rail bushing which he "eased" for me. He also took the hammer thing (cage?) off and checked the flange and pulled out the key-stick itself and peered all down in there to see if any adjacent ones were rubbing. But just the front bushing was the thing. Honestly he must have looked at a dozen different spots while he was in there.

Thanks for sharing your knowledge.

I think he was correct to keep looking after apparently fixing the problem by easing that front bushing. After a day or so that key is getting slow to return again. It no longer sticks halfway up like it was before the easing but now it returns at about 1/4 the speed of any other key on the piano.

He said he was checking everything else he could think of because the it did not feel to him exactly like the usual tight front bushing. He suspected maybe the adjacent key was interfering or it was something to do with the dampers. But unfortunately once he did the easing and put it back together it worked perfectly which made it impossible to find whatever else might have been going on.

I think I'll wait a day or two to ask him back out and see if any other quirks develop. It plays fine now although that key being slow to come back up feels funny. Hopefully next time the additional issue will manifest itself instead of going away and hiding as soon as he pokes it a little!

A key slow to return in a grand could be a tight balance rail hole or bushing, but more usually a tight hammer flange. The weight of the hammer lifts the front of the key up - and if the hammer flange is sluggish, the key will rise slowly. The flange would need to be re-pinned, not simply lubed. Lube is not a permanent repair on new pianos.

He seemed to suspect the same thing about the hammer, based on the behavior of the key. But he took the hammer loose from the key (or vice versa, got the hammer isolated) and keep let it flop up and back and up and back. He just could not find any hint of a bind to hammer itself.

Anyway, he'll be back in a couple days. I talked to him on the phone and he said that he has "eased" the bushing just the bare minimum and may need to give it another squeeze. But he thinks a couple of other possibilities need another look, as well.

One comment he made about the front bushing (today) was that you don't want to get carried away and make it too loose. No need to have a brand-new piano with a wobbly key. So he cautioned patience, which I am willing to go along with.

You have had your new piano for only less than a week. I think you need to stick with your technician, trust him and work with him. Trying to second-guess him and solicit internet opinions this early in the game does not help your vital relationship with your tech. Some technicians would not take very kindly to this, given the short history of the piano in your home, and rightly so, I believe. I understand your intentions are good, but it could back-fire on you. If your piano is still misbehaving after a month or so, despite the tech's and the dealer's best efforts to get it to work as designed, come on back and we can brainstorm from there. But in the end, you are still dependent on your local tech.

Just to clarify...

I trust his work completely and know that we'll end up with a very satisfactory result. I certainly wouldn't attempt to short-circuit his process. I'm just interested in understanding the larger context of these sorts of issues. And I try not to inundate him with too many what-ifs and hypotheticals while he's trying to concentrate on the task at hand.

So instead I'm pestering you guys with what-ifs and hypotheticals about a piano you haven't even seen. But I very much appreciate your insight...also including the well-considered advice to stand back and let the man work! Point taken.

Quick note in closing...

Second time was the charm. The sticky D key has played perfectly for a couple days now and I'm confident the problem is solved.

This is a repair that is best done conservatively, so it sounds like you have a good tech.