Hexagonal Hammer Shanks

[James Ellis]

Ron,

We are not talking about center-loaded structural beans, static-loaded
floors, how much the floor jiggles with how much static loading, etc.  We
are talking about hammer heads out on the ends of shanks.  In this case,
the moment of inertia of the shank itself is almost negligible.  The moment
of inertia is all concentrated out at the hammer head, and we don't want
the hammer head to wiggle and wobble as it hits the string.  But at the
same time, we don't want a shank that has so much mass that it's vibrating
center causes the hammer to wiggle.  We are playing stiffness of the shank
against it's own mass against the mass of the hammer head that is rotating
end-over-end because it is moving in an arc.  I hope to prove my point with
some measurements.  However, if my measurements don't prove my point, I
will take a back seat and be quiet.  It will be a few days before I can get
time to do this, but I think it will be worth it.  Thanks, Ron, for your
comments.

Sincerely, Jim Ellis