[CAUT] Which S&S replacement action parts?

[Keith Roberts]

Why would carbon fiber be stiffer? The beauty of carbon fiber is that the
stiffness is controlable and can be varied to spec along the length of the
shank. A shank then can be designed like a ski, placing the stiffness length
wise where it is needed and controlling the  torsional rotation at the same
time. Since strength is adjustable, the shanks should be lighter.
I met a carbon fiber engineer from Washington who makes drums. He said CF
has very similar sound transmission properties as wood.
I doubt the shanks we can get are that hi-tec. Only Kawai has spent that
kind of money on research. It's all in how you set up the magnetic fields
that align the fibers for the part you need and what you are trying to
accomplish. If you are just trying to duplicate wood, that would be easy. If
you are taking high speed photographs and trying to design a flexable shaft
that improves sound production, then you are taking the piano to higher
levels like the skiing and tennis of today. Ask any athlete if they would go
back to the old wood racquets and skiis. Eh????

Keith Roberts

On Wed, Jun 25, 2008 at 3:50 PM, Mark Dierauf <pianotech at nhpianos.com>
wrote:

>  My larger concern here was for weight reduction, but I will include S&S
> shanks when sampling various options before making a final decision.
> You ask if the shanks can be "too stiff". Of course I don't know the
> answer, but I could imagine that a dramatically different stiffness could
> affect the hammer string contact time (and contact *point*) and therefore
> the tone. Hence my reluctance to try the WNG Carbon fiber shanks before
> hearing them on more than the two examples that I recently heard at NEECSO
> this past April, all the more so since these were Mason & Hamlins and not
> Steinways, and neither of these two were entirely ready for primetime (the
> composite actions had only been temporarily installed for the seminar the
> previous week).
>
> - Mark Dierauf
>
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