I routinely set a curved strike line in these pianos and it is set by ear. That said I usually find hammer C-64 needs to be pulled in toward the player 3 to 4 mm. This note is always in mu experience the furthest out of line. The hammers typically start the curve at G-5 and reach the apex of the curve at C -6 from there to note 71 they curve back out. Its a kind of a crescent moon shape in appearance. The aural test is to listen for sustain and clarity of the power. The real indicator is how the notes sound with and with out the shift pedal shifted over. When the hammers are in the non optimal spot the tone is woody, whiny and weak. When the hammers are in the optimal position most of that goes a way. Sustain is the best and soft pedal playing is sweet. See the pictures attached. I find that this is required on all Steinways of most vintages. Eric Schandall has said"The newer ones have had most of the issues corrected" It the soundboard has potential;....the curved strike line in Steinways can make the difference between a mediocre treble and a spectacular one. Dale Erwin R.P.T. Erwin's Piano Restoration Inc. Mason & Hamlin/Steinway/U.S. pianos www.Erwinspiano.com Phone: 209-577-8397 -----Original Message----- From: Delwin D Fandrich <del at fandrichpiano.com> To: caut <caut at ptg.org> Sent: Fri, Sep 14, 2012 11:16 am Subject: Re: [CAUT] 70's St. B strike point The V-bar should have a curve to it. It's just that they sometimes got the curve wrong and sometimes they put the whole thing in the wrong place. In these cases we have to set the hammers in or out to compensate. The exact hammer strike point is not all that critical from the bass through the tenor. It becomes increasingly critical from the top of the tenor section up to C-88. 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: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Rob Loomis Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 9:35 AM To: caut at ptg.org Subject: Re: [CAUT] 70's St. B strike point I understand that the strike 'line' in this piano should probably be an arc. The capo certainly is. Referencing a straight line from note # 52 - #88 - the capo arcs out 10 mm. at note #69. It's the placement of note #72 that I'm really searching for. I have the WN&G tool and I've moved the hammers in and out to find the right spot. My ear agrees with their tool. Assuming I bore as usual and don't rake the hammers, if I were to hang hammers #72 & #88 = 5 1/8" out from the flange center, put in the bass end block, then pull the treble end of the keyframe out until #72 is correct, then the treble end of the keyframe is 6 mm. proximal of the proximal edge of the keybed and hammer #88 is 2mm. closer to the capo than it should be. Any guidance? many thanks! Rob Loomis On Sep 14, 2012, at 11:30 AM, "Delwin D Fandrich" <del at fandrichpiano.com> wrote: > Strike lines are often not a straight line in older pianos. (They > should be in modern pianos but it's always wise to check.) You can do > this by trial and error--dry fitting #72 and #88 hammers snugly to > their respective shanks and sliding them back and forth until you find > the right spot--or you can contact WN&G and buy one of their handy > little tools designed for just this purpose. > > 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: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of > Rob Loomis > Sent: Friday, September 14, 2012 7:56 AM > To: caut at ptg.org > Subject: [CAUT] 70's St. B strike point > > Hello- > > I'm trying to hang a set of hammers on a Steinway B from the early > 70's. The capo's a bit wonkie, the original hammers were obviously > hung strangely - they are raked back and must have under-centered from the beginning. > > I've got #88 figured out, but am confused about where to hang #72. > Does anyone have string length / strike point - or other info - info to guide me? > > Thansks - > > Rob Loomis > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20120914/fb60a4be/attachment-0001.htm> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Full size strike line pic.jpg Type: image/jpeg Size: 51584 bytes Desc: not available URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20120914/fb60a4be/attachment-0001.jpg> -------------- next part -------------- A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: Stwy B strike line.JPG Type: image/jpeg Size: 81333 bytes Desc: not available URL: <https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20120914/fb60a4be/attachment-0001.jpeg>
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