traveling/traveling/ traveling?

[jolly roger]

>Hey there Roger... was wondering when you would pipe in on this one !..
Say...
>have you ever tried this "hang first travel second" approach ?? If so why
dont
>you tell us a bit about your experience with it ?
>--
 
Hi Richard,
                 I have tried several methods.
Here is how I do it today, or until I find a better method that suits me.
I use only German or Japanese shank's, since I feel they are of a higher
quality of material and machining, than their North American equivalents.
(They need far less travelling).

1. Clean the rail of old sand paper in most cases, since old travel paper
and and various 'gunk' always seems to be inbedded in it.
2. Very lightly sand with 320grit, and replace sand paper. Thin double
sided sticky tape is clean and fast.

Side Note: as I'm typing.  I space, rotate, and travel all wippens before I
start, 
3. Quickly screw on all new shanks with electric driver.  Eye ball spacing
and rough checking the fit of wip to knuckle as I go. Goes real fast. (
Tip.Examine the knuckles carefully of you new shank's)
4. Dry fit the end hammers in each section, checking travel, strike point,
over centering, and squareness,  ( use a machinist square on the bench to
check both sides of each hammer)
Once I'm satisfied, glue samples and recheck in piano.
5. Travel any obvious bad shanks. Very few needed with high quality parts.

Another side note: weigh and sort shanks before starting.
6.  I use the Spurlock gig.  As I glue on the rest of the hammers, I am
checking that the bottom the tails sit squarely on the tray and the hammers
are parallel with each other.
7.  Leave 24hrs before doing fine travelling and burn in.  Moisture from
the glue will often cause a shank to twist a little.
8.  Any hammers that are more than a few degrees off square should be
pulled and reglued, any burn in more than this has a way of creeping back.
9.  Remove and number all hammers and shanks.
10. Trim shanks on band saw.
11. Taper hammers as require for clearance and or wight control.  I have a
good set of jigs to do this chore on the table saw with shanks on.
12. Tail hammer arc to 1/2 the centre pin to tail radius.
13.  Reinstall hammers
14.  At the piano, spacing, fine travel, and srting fit/spacing is done in
one combined operation.
Have I ever said grand actions are interactive?.
15   Now go back and relign the wips, should be just small corrections.

I'm boring and hanging a set of hammers on Monday, so I may change the
proceedure. <G>
They will be Abel's so very few problems.  Great shanks.

Regards Roger