Rodgers 830 pedal problems

[tbeck]

Hi all,

The pedalboard on my Rodgers 830 has developed a couple of problems that I hope aren't too difficult to deal with.

The first problem is that some pedals are bouncing after being released, to that point that the switch is engaged and disengaged several times after release. You can imagine what that sounds like!

The other problem is that a felt (or some other type of material) strip has come loose from the bottom F, F# and G pedals and the pedal travels all the way down with a loud clack.

Any ideas?

Tom

[tucsondave]

Remove the cover at the rear of the pedals and tighten the screws that hold the leaf springs to stop the bouncing.

Glue the felt back in place or if it's missing get some weather stripping at a local hardware store to replace it.

td

[toodles]

The bouncing pedal might be the spring tension is too loose. Remove the back cover (the part nearest your heels when playing) and tighten the tension spring--it is a flat spring plate.

You can replace the downstop felt on the pedalboard. Klann Organ supply will sell you the felt. www.klannorgan.com

[tbeck]

Thanks, gentlemen. When I get to this, I'll probably have some more questions.

[tbeck]

I pulled out the pedalboard today to look at the downstop felt. There was just one strip under three pedals that was loose. It is in good condition and is still connected to the rest of the long strip. I simply pushed it back and replaced the pedalboard. The pedal travel was ok and similar to the others but after a few minutes of playing, it was loose again. I think it will be ok if I glue it in. What kind of glue should I use?

[toodles]

What material is the downstop? If it is felt, something as simple as carpenter's yellow glue should work. If it is foam, then contact cement or double stick tape might work.

Felt would need the glue side of the felt to be porous, so you might need to remove any residue.

In either case, the surface to which you are gluing needs to be relatively clean--i.e., remove any residue that is there.

[jbird604]

I have used silicone glue to stick down either the blue foam or real felt in those pedalboards. GE Silicone Seal is the name brand, but various other companies make a similar silicone glue that remains flexible when it dries, and sticks to almost anything, even an irregular surface. Other folks use contact cement or other glues with just as much success, whatever will hold it in place.

When we find a Rodgers in a church that has the foam either packed down severely or broken into pieces, we use piano felt from Schaff (or you can order it on Amazon without having a Schaff account). There is a true organ pedalboard felt sold by Organ Supply Industries, but it is quite a bit thicker than the original blue foam in most Rodgers pedals, and thus makes for some adjustment issues. Instead of that felt, I've used a type of felt used in piano rebuilding. It might be called "grand hammer rail felt" but I'm not sure of the exact name of it. If you carefully measure the thickness of the blue foam in a place where it is not squashed down, you can probably find piano felt for sale that is the same thickness and the same width. Cut it into lengths to fit your needs. The pedals will then play better than ever before!

[toodles]

JBird,

Thanks for this info. I've got an 840 where the dealer replaced the foam and used the Rodgers blue foam to replace it, but one small section isn't sticking. Just ordered the replacement felt via Amazon. It is called "piano hammer rail felt", and if different styles are offered, choose the one for grand pianos. I bought the last piece, so hopefully the supplier will get more.

Silicone sealant/glue is a great adhesive. It is nice because it takes a while to cure, so you can reposition things if you need to.

Seems this is available here, too; different widths are offered. https://www.howardpianoindustries.co...er-rail-cloth/

[tbeck]

My pedalboard does have "Rodgers blue foam." It looks to be in good condition and is consistent across the entire range. There is only one small piece that is loose, so I think I'll try to glue it back before doing anything more (for me) difficult. In terms of future maintenance, will the silicon glue leave any kind of residue that will have to be removed before new foam or felt is added?

By the way is pedalboard one word or two?

[toodles]

The AGO console standard calls it a pedalboard, 1 word; Organ Supply Industries also uses 1 word. Gramatically, I suspect you are fine with either.

Yes, silicone sealant will have to be removed if the dampening material is ever removed. It can be cut away with a utility knife, and sometimes, if the material is not very porous, it can be peeled away.

[tbeck]

I finally got around to purchasing some silicone glue and worked on this yesterday. The good news is that the glue works very well and the pedals are nice and quiet again. The bad news is that somehow it looks as though I've gotten a few of the switches misaligned. I don't think it has to do necessarily with the "repair" job I did because the problem doesn't seem to be with the up/down travel. And also, it is occurring on some of the pedals which were not affected by the loose material. I think the problem is with lateral alignment. For the problematic pedals, I have to push them a little sideways in order for them to play. I remember I had the same issue when the organ was delivered to the house. A tech came and did some other work on the organ and also fixed this problem. Unfortunately, I had the flu at the time so I wasn't paying attention when he fixed the pedals.

If if gives you any kind of a clue, the issue is only in the bottom half of the pedalboard. I hope there's an easy way to fix this. It's probably obvious from my posts that I'm not very handy. I'd hate to have to call that tech again. He lives on the other side of the island and he charges mileage and his rate is very high. If he's even still here. After Maria, who knows. Anyway, all advice will be appreciated.

[jbird604]

The pedalboard can be shifted from side to side a bit, as it is supported at the console end on two studs that extend out from the inner sides of the pedal cavity. If you are strong enough, just tug on the pedalboard and move it a tad one way to see if that clears it up. If not, shove it back the other direction. The goal is to "settle" the unit back into the center of its proper position. When setting it down, it's very easy to get it slightly crooked or to offset it to one side of the other.

[toodles]

It may be that the floor is a little uneven or the console has shifted a little over the years and shimming one side of the pedalboard up a little resolves the issue. Very little movement can matter a lot.

[tbeck]

Thanks, guys. I just pulled the pedalboard a little to one side and that resolved the problem. When I first tried that it seemed that there wasn't much play, but I exerted a little more force today and it did move.