[pianotech] Chickering's splayed actions...Why?

[Ron Nossaman]

jim ialeggio wrote:
> I've been wondering about the concept of the splayed grand action for a 
> while.


I like Marcel's take on the straight keys. Otherwise, who 
knows? I get the impression the old man had a list of 
everything he could think of in piano design that he could 
justify questioning, and systematically went down the list 
checking 'em off as he tried something different with almost 
every piano to see what was to be learned. If we only knew the 
thought processes that produced these continual changes, and 
the conclusions hopefully reached as results, we'd be 
collectively more educated as to what was considered to work, 
or not, and a subjective opinion as to why. We don't, 
naturally, because it wasn't passed on. What I really don't 
understand is how he thought he could survive as a 
manufacturing facility doing what amounted to R&D and custom 
fabrication on what should have been production pianos, from 
just the sales of those pianos.

Where did the money come from?
Ron N