[pianotech] Touchweight: Re: half punching & figuring FW

[Delwin D Fandrich]

The veneer strips can also be placed on the other side--toward the front of
the keys--if you have the opposite problem. I've done this a couple of times
when replacing what I considered to excessively massive hammers with
something lighter.

At first I worried about increasing wear on the balance rail hole but it
doesn't seem to be an issue.

I still prefer to relocate capstans but this does save the customer some
money and there appears to be little downside.

ddf

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
6939 Foothill Court SW, Olympia, Washington 98512 USA
Phone  360.515.0119 — Cell  360.388.6525
del at fandrichpiano.com — ddfandrich at gmail.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of David Love
Sent: Sunday, June 26, 2011 7:43 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org; ptg_touchweightne at egroups.ptg.org
Subject: [pianotech] Touchweight: Re: half punching & figuring FW

Follow up for Barbara Richmond, somewhere near Peoria:

Tried uploading these to the new "higher logic" website but alas, no go
(still waiting for those Vulcan consultants to arrive apparently).  So I'm
posting it here on the old list where it's much simpler and works.
@&#*#$(&%*$()$.  I hope you see it here.  I've copied the new website even
though I have no idea how it will come through there.  

Anyway, this is a picture(s) of the veneer method of lowering the action
ratio without moving capstans.  It works very well and drops the ratio by
about .6.  I just did this on an 1970's Teflon Steinway L where I was
replacing the action.  Switched to 17 mm knuckles but still had a 6.0 ratio
(hammer displacement method).  Doing this dropped it nicely to about 5.4.
(6 mm dip moved the hammer 36 mm on the original (6.0) and 32.5 once the
veneer was in place (5.41).    

Thin veneer (it's probably .025" thick) is cut into strips about 1/8" wide
and glued in place behind (in this case since I'm lowering the ratio).  In
this case I replaced the punchings with thinner ones which I prefer and
might be required in some cases.  Much easier than moving the capstan and it
works quite well.  Can also be done in place of changing the shank or
knuckle where a lower of the ratio is needed but you're not changing parts
or only changing hammers and don't want to alter the hammer weight
necessarily.  Takes a few hours with all the regulation stuff.  Perhaps you
are already familiar with the method.  

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com