Hello David, My writing to the list was actually because (according to me) there was very little to be done about the action because: The centerpins were ok now - the repetition levers were smooth as a baby - the spring power brought back from jumping to moderate quick - and the keyboard checked and worked on completely. So...what is left (in my tiny mind) is a. the configuration of whippen, capstan and roller, which seems ok according to Mr Mannino (he mentioned the distance in mm (130 mm) between centerpins) and b. the making smaller of the hammers in order to lose weight. This however is hardly possible. The hammer is smal, not large, and already I have tried to reshape the tail of No 1. The result was hardly noticeable and indeed (I am familiar with the process of sanding) one needs to take off felt as well. This is what I don't like because it changes the tone. The hammer mass is smaller on the one hand, and downweight will definitely improve, but the character of the whole instrument changes and in my opinion it would be more desirable to replace the complete hammer set because the hammers are just too heavy!. Because....what also happens, is, that by altering the hammer shape we make a sort of copy of the old Steinway light weight hammers on the old Steinways, where the tone was (as we all know) smaller but beautiful. Apparently some piano makers chose (at the time) to have this downweight. I will let the matter rest now, also depending on the wishes of the customer. If he wants a lighter action, I will either trim all hammers, or install a new but lighter set complete with new shanks, and do some proper key leading afterwards. The last option I like best for it is a clean start, but is more expensive. But of course I am happy with all your comments and help and this is exactly what the list is for! My sincere greetings Antares David Ilvedson wrote: >57 to 60 grams is pretty heavy for downweight. Measure your >downweight and upweight and divide the difference by 2 to get >your friction reading. I believe around 15 grams is normal. If >I have a piano with plenty of upweight, i.e. high 20s to 30+ I >will typically remove weight from the hammers if possible. >Kawai's usually have plenty of dead weight. 5 to 1 ratio! >Remove 2 grams and you've got about a 50 gram downweight. This >work will decrease your upweight. 20 grams upweight is barely >enough to keep the key under the pianist's fingers. I use a 1" >belt sander and do each hammer assembly by hand and eye. Remove >it, trim it and reinstall. This way I don't have too much >aligning to do. > >ilvey >Pacifica, CA friendly greetings from: André Oorebeek CONCERT PIANO SERVICE Amsterdam, the Netherlands email: oorebeek@euronet.nl ƒ where MUSIC is no harm can be ƒ
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