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 thats 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 thats 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 whos 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 Pauls 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 Pauls
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 its 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.