More off the wall stuff

[David Love]

Richard B.:

I do recall an entry by David Stanwood sometime back addressing this issue.
He outlined an action in which this very problem existed which he solved by
a staggered capstan line calculated to give equal overall leverage between
the sharps and naturals.  You might check with him (if you haven't already).

David Love


----- Original Message -----
From: "Bill Ballard" <yardbird@vermontel.net>
To: "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: January 17, 2003 6:23 PM
Subject: Re: More off the wall stuff


At 12:37 AM +0100 1/18/03, Richard Brekne wrote:
>We see very very often that the key ratio between the black and whites
>are significantly different. Sometimes as much as from 0.50 to 0.54.
>Perhaps more in some exceptional cases. There has been thrown out
>several different ways of approaching handling this. But here is one I
>havent heard and am curious about.

I didn't really pay attention on round one of this, but wasn't
relocating balance pins and buttons one suggestion? IOW, side-by-side
balance pins all @ .52?

I'd certainly start there, although it is ticklish finicky work which
I would ask some else to do. And damned expensive, too.

>What would bad about staggering the knuckle position ? It wouldnt take
>much to compensate for the difference in key ratio to even out the
>overall ratio....

I'd worry that making as significant a change as required might stray
from the optimum which the engineers had designed, causing (say) the
sharp shanks to wear faster and fail earlier than the natural shanks.
I personally think that wherever you try to alter the leverage to
equalize the two, there are serious risks. I would thus prefer to see
the extent to which the differences can be masked with the helper
spring.

>Just another thought I'd love hearing your thoughts about.

read: trick question. Like David Love's Lady or the Tiger: friction
or DW? And your, "Does keeping the weight low on the molding or high,
affect the strike weight (and thus, action ratio)?"

Ric, my soybeans haven't broken through the 2' of snow over here,
yet. Usually the crocuses have come up first, but I haven't seen them
yet. How are yours?

Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.

"All God's Children got Rhythm"
     ...........Ivy Anderson in "A Day at the Races"
+++++++++++++++++++++
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