[pianotech] Chickering Fan-Action

[Ron Nossaman]

jim ialeggio wrote:
>        I think that there are some ,to say the least, are confused
>     about what piano is being talked about.
>      
>        The Chickering Quarter grand does not have the Fan/Spread
>     action. I never heard it called  "splayed".

If I've not heard the term "splayed" specifically used to 
describe non parallel alignment of hammer shanks to wippens, 
I'm familiar with the word in other contexts and can at least 
interpret intent in this case. It's a matter of making a 
minimal attempt to understand somewhere beyond the rigid literal.


> I was referring to the 122 quarter grand, with no cheek blocks at all. 
> The action does not spread, but rather in the "splay" I refer to (my own 
> nomenclature maybe), the shanks and whips angle in towards the center of 
> the keyboard. Action parts are nowhere near parallel to the key fronts, 
> and the angle of "splay" varies from note to note throughout the entire 
> scale, being up to 12 deg off of parallel in the bass and low tenor.

Got it, whether I knew the details and specific history of the 
indicated model or not, which I don't.


> Actually, I love the sweet voice and light touch of this instrument.  My 
> post was simply musing about the practical difficulties imposed by the 
> fan/spread/splay (whatever it wants to be called), and why a designer 
> would choose to follow this path. Again, not as a judgment  but as an "I 
> wonder why".

I wonder too. It's not tonal, since the angle of wippen to 
shank hasn't yet surfaced as a critical design or voicing 
parameter. Nor has the angle of shank to string, likewise. 
Should it, someday, all the answers will fall into place 
automatically with no effort or thought on our part.

In the interim, I suppose, we're just skewed.
Ron N