In a message dated 1/27/98 4:03:14 PM, you wrote: <<Is there a standard measurement for the distance from the hammer shank flange center to the strike line on the hammer? Does anybody know how it was derived? Michael Wathen>> I use the ratio of 7:1. 1=the distance from the shank flange pin to the point where the knuckle just touches a straight line from the shank flange pin. 1 usually equals 18mm to 18.5mm. The hammer is positioned 7 times that distance. Between 126mm and 129.5mm. Old Steinways are the closest to 7:1 I've found. They seemed to know what they were doing then. New Steinways seem to be plagued with a hammer that is positioned too far out on the shank. I have had to re-install hammers at the correct position to make the action function properly (Richard Steinbach's studio S&S B). The fallboard has to be looked at. Generally if the hammers are too far out on the shank, there is excessive space between the fallboard and the black keys. Since the hammers are brought in on the shanks, the action needs to be pushed in towards the fallboard to compensate for the strike point change. There are more ratios in the action, but you only asked about the hammer position on the shank. Tim Coates University of South Dakota
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