[CAUT] lighter touchweight

[Richard Brekne]

Hey Chris

Comments intertwined below.


    Yes Ric, i too would like more info to get the basic out of the way,
    a good
    marriage of Ratio and StrikeWeight, but that doesn't seem likely in this
    case.

Yep, I suspect a mismatch too, but who knows ? Hazarding a guess I'd say 
the R was high for the SW's... or the fellow just wants a really light 
touch.

    As for capstan/wippen friction, a lighter weight resting on the
    capstan will result in less friction. Don't change anything else and
    put in
    a lighter wippen or one with an assist spring and measure it. With
    an assist
    spring picking up much or all of the weight of the wippen (and that
    doesn't
    have to be adjusted that tightly to accomplish it), as some have
    erroneously
    imagined the rep spring to be doing, you will read less friction
    statically
    and perhaps wonder what happened but I assure you that the effect is
    much
    greater when the action is in motion and felt by the player.

Well, I have to admit I've never actually bothered to check out a static 
difference in friction for a couple grams difference in whippen weight. 
I've noticed a bit when disengaging assist springs visa vi coupling them 
to just lift the whippen weight.  But cant say I've noticed very much 
static difference.  I will look closer at this in the near future tho, 
since so many of you seem to relate similar experience.  Never say never 
as the saying goes :)



    Further not all of them like it. Ask me how I know. In other words
    you can give the same BW
    (with same Up and Down) with springs and lead as you do with just
    lead and
    the noticable difference will be two things, mass of the key at
    break away
    and less friction. Where else is it but at the the place you pulled the
    weight off of?

Well, measured friction change from lighter whippen weight I'd agree has 
to be coming from the roller / capstan interface.  But I've always been 
under the impression that the major objection pianists have to light 
whippens has more to do with the fly away affect, and how the things 
reset on the capstans.  What do you mean by <<mass of the key at break 
away>> ?


    I truely wish we had a way of measuring kinetic component friction cause
    then I'd have charts and graphs and really kick your butt! But think
    about
    it and tell me where I'm wrong because I'm just a beginner and I
    start over
    fresh everyday anyway.

Grin... kick away Chris.  But you are no beginner... tho that wad of 
<<what I know and dont>> humility in your back pocket serves you well 
and its one of the things I like very much about your posts. Keeping 
oneself firmly on the learning bench is probably the absolute best tool 
at our disposal.

    BTW just asa a teasing aside, the newly designed wippens that Jamie and
    Bruce are developing for M &H from synthetics are lighter, several grams
    lighter, than standard and the reason is???? So they can put the
    weight into
    the hammer and reduce friction at the capstan which by the way is
    anodized
    aluminum and of course very light.
    Best wishes to you,

Hmm... but er... weight a minute here.  A capstan for a note with 40 
gram BW and 30 grams FW is balancing a lot of weight on the capstan yes 
?  With a blank 0.5 key ratio we have 140 grams sitting there.  How much 
difference can a couple grams weight difference make in friction at the 
capstan / whippen interface ?  And what difference at all can there be 
in friction here if the weight is the same, but composed of different 
amounts of SW and WW ?
 
More Musing from Bergen


    Chris Solliday

Cheers
RicB