Nap-time

[Don_Mannino@yca.ccmail.compuserve.com]

     Conrad Hoffsommer wrote:

     >It has come to my attention, privately, that there exists a
     difference of opinion, or even NO opinion about direction of leather
     nap.

     >Could the factory reps fill me (and our august assembly) in as to the
     current mfg practice?

     Don Mannino replies:

     OK everybody, he _asked_ for the manufacturing point of view, OK?
     Don't give me no grief!

     For YC pianos, the nap should be rough during letoff, smooth during
     return. In practice, we use the same artificial skin material from
     Japan which is used by another large manufacturer except ours is a
     slightly different color, which makes it "Young Chang Special Skin."
     It has a very slight nap, and is marked after pressing with a black
     line which should face towards the hammer when the knuckle is
     installed.

     Aside from Young Chang, I agree with having the nap give resistance
     during letoff, and be smoother on return. Since the jack has to be in
     contact with the knuckle at rest, there is some unavoidable friction
     during return. If the nap is raised during the return of the jack,
     that will cause difficulty in regulating the repetition lever height
     precisely.

     Also, the slight added power supplied by the rougher nap during letoff
     is good most of the time.

     Some pianists won't agree with this, as the letoff is a little more
     thunky (I see the headlines now: MANNINO SAYS ELEVATED NAPS CAUSE
     THUNKINESS). Teflon helps, but maybe some people just prefer the nap
     the other way. That's why there's a difference of opinion and some
     vagueness here.

     Personally, I prefer to nap during Sunday golf games on TV.  My 3 year
     old daughter disagrees.

     Don_Mannino@YCA.ccmail.compuserve.com