Heavy action on Steinway "L"

[Vince Mrykalo]

The best way to remove weight from the hammers is to remove material above
the shank, yet below the tip of the moulding.  Do this on the edge of a
sanding belt.  You will end up with hammers the shape of an hour glass.

Vince Mrykalo
vince@byu.edu


>The new hammers are probably heavier than the originals.  You need to
>either use lighter hammers or reduce the weight (mass) of the ones you
>have.  Some ways to do this are
>
>1) taper the hammers (mainly in the tails),
>2) slim the tails (remove excess material),
>3) widen the arc from the concave side so that it reaches almost to the
>bore hole,
>4) trim material from edges of the inside of the arc by creating a
>triangular or "bicycle seat" cross section,
>5) drill small holes along the center of the molding above the bore
>hole, and
>6) remove material from the sides of the shank itself near the hammer.
>
>Whatever you remove will reduce the keyweight by five times as much.
>
>Paul S. Larudee, RPT
>Richmond, CA
>