Pedal felt squeaking on wood. Any ideas?

[emma-graham]

My duet partner has an odd problem. She has a black harp (Pilgrim Aldeburgh – about 2 years old) and the pedal felts have started squeaking against the painted wood. They are not worn and don’t look as though they need replacing but some of the black from the wood seems to have rubbed off onto them. Has anyone come across this? We were wondering if there is anything we could put on the felts or wood (talc etc?) to help them slide without squeaking or does she just need to bite the bullet and get the pedals re-wrapped. In case it makes a difference the wood is painted matt black not gloss.

[tony-morosco]

Maybe the last time the felts were replaced they were wound on too thick? Sounds like they are pressing up against sides of the slots. Has it been particularly humid where you are? I suppose it is possible that they absorbed some humidity and expanded. Check and see if they feel damp at all.

[Tacye]

Are they felt or suede leather? Every few years I put a little leather dressing on my leather ‘felts’ but I think pilgrim use suede (when they use leather) and mine are smooth leather so am not sure it would transfer across.

I can’t see talc doing any harm.

If they are red they will be felt – dark brown is the thicker felt for the Progress and the leather is tan. Personally I love leather instead of felt – I used to wear through felts in a year or two but haven’t needed to change them since I put leather on 10 years ago.

[Sylvia]

Where can you get leather ones?

If the girl’s felts are two years old, and they just now started squeaking, I wouldn’t think they were too thick, as Tony suggested…the time sequence isn’t right. They’ve been OK till now, it seems.

I have squeakers on one of my harps, and I’ll try wrapping so they aren’t as thick next time. I do put Vaseline on them, and that helps for a while.

[tony-morosco]

If they are two years old and she practices regularly then they probably need to be replaced. I thought the age was just an indication of how old the harp was, not that the felts had never been changed. They may not look like they need replacing, but after two years of regular use I would expect that they are.

[Sylvia]

But why would aging felts squeak? They might start to wear thru, but squeak? Plus, the girl wouldn’t have too thick a wrap or they would have squeaked before now…if that is the cause. Felt detective work is tricky. Mine are on the harp I play for outdoor stuff, so it isn’t too dire.

[patricia-jaeger]

I hope your friend will tell the problem to John Hoare, chief engineer at Pilgrim Harps: info@pilgrimharps.co.uk . It is likely that he has heard of this happening before and would know exactly what should be done.

[Tacye]

Sylvia, It is just leather – I chose a bit the right thickness from a cobbler’s scrap basket and cut the rectangles myself.

[Sylvia]

I think you told me that before. I think you are in the UK…finding a cobbler’s scrap basket might be a challenge here. But how did you get them to stay on….sew thru the leather?

[Tacye]

I haven’t walked past a cobbler’s scrap basket in years either – but can find most things on ebay! Yes I sewed them – it was reasonably tough to do, but worth it to break the tedious felt packing/wear/regulation pattern.

[emma-graham]

Well, she’s been in touch with John at pilgrim and he suggested rubbing candle wax on the vertical part of the pedal slot. Fingers crossed it works!

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