[CAUT] Re-traveling (was Re: (no subject))

[Fred Sturm]

Hi WIm,
	I find that I routinely re-travel every time I "re-prep" a piano,  
and always find room for improvement. I am convinced that shanks and  
flanges warp a wee bit, one way or the other, and this leads to some  
changes in travel. I also think that the standard method of traveling  
is prone to mistakes, especially resulting in large groups of hammers  
traveling in unison in one direction or other. I have found that I  
get much better and more consistent results by laying the stack with  
hammers and flanges down on the workbench, then rotating the stack  
(Steinway provides a nice long handle for the purpose <G>) rapidly up  
and down, with the limit of motion being when jack tails and letoff  
buttons meet. Observe the sideward motion of the hammers, focusing  
particularly on the ends of the hammershanks protruding through the  
hammer molding.
	The hammers should be entirely static (well, they will move toward  
and away from you a bit), and it is easy to see which are moving side  
to side, even minutely. I make marks on the tail, starting on the  
tip, on the side towards which the hammer is moving (under which I  
will place a shim). (Second and third time through I will move the  
marks down the tail toward the shank, to distinguish). Pencil for  
light wood, chalk for dark. Then turn the stack up, with  
hammerflanges and hammers up toward you (not resting on the  
cushions), so you can see the marks. Remove, shim, replace, using  
electric screwdriver with clutch (finger start screws every time).  
Goes fast, yields better results than any other method I have tried.
	I find that when I follow myself after using this method, there is  
very little touchup to do. But there is always some, just as there is  
always some hammer squaring to do (burning shanks). Heck, as long as  
I'm writing, I'll describe that technique, too.
	With the stack placed so that the hammer flanges are toward you,  
lift each hammer in turn to the point where the shank is level with  
the crowns of the neighboring hammers. Center the shank/molding  
between those two crowns (use a spacing tool or loosen the screw and  
space). Do this as anally as you possibly can, judging those  
distances to the diameter of a hair. Now drop the hammer to rest  
(have a straight board under the shanks for support, to keep them  
even), and burn if needed to center the crown of that hammer  
precisely between those same two crowns. Go to the next. I have  
rarely come across a factory job or a rehang job (my own included)  
that didn't have a lot of room for improvement, sometimes a whole lot.
	Meticulous travel, square, filing, and string leveling leads to  
voicing that goes like butter. End of harangue (I've been doing a lot  
of this particular work for the past several weeks, both at the U and  
at a couple concert venues, so it's fresh in my mind).
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico
fssturm at unm.edu



On Jul 14, 2006, at 12:04 PM, Willem Blees wrote:

> Two years ago I hung a new set of h,s,f on a B, and I thought I had
> done a real good job of traveling the shanks. But this morning when I
> put the action on my bench for routine maintenance, I discovered
> about a dozen or so shanks that were traveling a little to one side.
>
> Now, am I just getting that much critical with my own work, or do
> flanges tend to "settle" in, thus needing to be traveled again?
>
> Wim
> Willem Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> School of Music
> University of Alabama
> Tuscaloosa, AL USA
>
>
> Willem Blees, RPT
> Piano Tuner/Technician
> School of Music
> University of Alabama
> Tuscaloosa, AL USA
>