Steinway hammer alignment

[A440A@AOL.COM]

I wrote: 

>    I set my shanks up without hammers.

Oleg asks:

>You mean without whippen too (eventually)?

Yes,  I travel the perpendicular to the whippen rail before I install the 
whippens. I use a small square to align their swing, and letting the shanks 
drop to the rail allows a very close centering over the whippen holes.  It 
does pay to eye-ball the whippen rail boring to see if there are any oddball 
spaces.  This is mainly a 1960's phenomenom.  

 

>>Did you have success moving one rail only sometime (without bending the

whole frame) ?>>

    I have never tried to move one rail, but the feet often benifit from a 
bit of tweaking.  
Regards, 
Ed Foote