Glides
Glide Bolts support the balance rail and keyframe by transferring the weight of the action, through the balance rail, to the keybed. The Una Corda, or soft pedal, operates by shifting the action sideways, to change the tone of the piano. When the action is shifted, the glide bolts, while supporting the action, must slide smoothly on the keybed. A standard brass or nickel plated steel glide works well enough when new. In time, however, tarnish or corrosion will make this movement gritty and difficult.
A smooth shift is essential to good performance of the Una Corda. With Aluminum Hard Anodized glides, the pedal action will be smooth, now as well as far into the future.
What are Glide bolts?
A glide bolt needs to slide smoothly on the keybed as it supports the weight of the action.
The traditional glide bolt is made from brass. Where the glide meets the keybed it is polished but this expedient is temporary at best. Eventually tarnish and corrosion attacks the brass increasing the friction between the keybed and glide. As a consequence, the keyframe no longer slides smoothly when the una corda pedal is played.
The WNG glide bolt is made from Aluminum, Hard Anodized and Polished for a permanent, super slick finish.
By hard anodizing and polishing the glide bolt we achieve a durable and permanently slick surface that, in normal use, will never degrade.
The hardness of this surface can be as much as Rockwell C65 (about as hard as a planer blade).
Alternatives to Brass
As an alternative to brass, nickel-plated steel is somewhat better at resisting corrosion, however, the nickel plating will eventually turn green and rough from corrosion as well. On this type of glide, polishing will completely remove the plating, leaving the steel underneath vulnerable to rust.
Wessell, Nickel & Gross's hard-anodized aluminum glide bolt, however, will not corrode. The polished surface of the glide bolt will stay smooth and slippery for many years and is a superior alternative to brass or nickel-plated steel glide bolts.
