---------- > From: James McCormac <jmccorm@tfb.com> > To: pianotech@ptg.org > Subject: light hammers > Date: Sunday, August 24, 1997 9:47 PM Dear List, Is this what Chickering had in mind in installing 5/32" hammer shanks to get rid of the 'Woody" sound? James Grebe pianoman@inlink.com > > Along the lines of the light hammer thread, I found an article in the > current issue of Piano & Keyboard (Sept/Oct 1997) which speaks to this > topic in an interesting way -- at least in a way that was new to me. > Entitled "A Tip for the Top," Robert Cloutier of the U. Oregon at > Eugene, suggests a method to take weight off hammers. He states: "I > offer the following advice to anyone with a new steinway (especially a > concert instrument), or to anyone with a Seinway which has recently been > re-hammered (with genuine parts)." Rather than remove material from the > sides of the moulding of the hammer, he recommends removing material fore > and aft of the moulding just above where the shank enters the moulding. > He continues:"Removing the wood makes the hammer more flexible. The > improvement in the sustaining 'ring' of the treble is substantial." He > posits that Steinways over fifty years old have hammershanks with smaller > diameters and thus more flexibility. His procedure is designed to > restore this flexibility and he applies it throughout the upper third of > the keyboard. > My questions to the list are as follows -- > Has anyone else tried this procedure, and with what success? > If the older Steinways have a singing treble because of smaller shanks, > why not remove material from the shanks as is suggested by not a few > experienced technicians, and thus achieve the desired flexibility? > It seems to me that removing material fore and aft just above the shank > hole is asking for a failure of the moulding. This might occur when it > is time to reshape the hammer either with a sanding paddle or sandpaper > strips. A fair amount of force is directed fore and aft on the hammer > when sanding. Finally, does Cloutier's method achieve the desired results > with less effort? I suppose that a rattail file on the moulding is > easier than using a router to reduce the mass of a hammershank -- no jig, > no chance of messing up a shank, etc. > I would appreciate the counsel of more experienced techs. > Jim McCormac > Associate > Fallbrook, CA >
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