New hammers on S&S

[stanwood]

Dear Clarence,

Before you remove hammer weight as a solution I would recommend checking the
distance from the hammer flange center out to the center of the knuckle
core.  It should be 17mm to get the most leverage advantage.    I would
check this first before taking weight off the hammer as a solution.

A critical measurement to clue you in as to what is happening here would be
the key weight ratio.  How much does a gram on the capstan translate to an
upwards force at the front of the key where touchweight is measured?  The
technique is described in the June 1996 PTG Journal, "The New Touchweight
Metrology".

Key ratios are the big variable in Steinways.  You can never tell what they
might be unless you measure them.  If I new the Key weight ratio and the
distance to the knuckle core I could recommend a more specific coarse of action.

David Stanwood


>Re:New hammers on S&S
>
>List	
>
>I have a S&S model B #333566 (1951) that had new hammers about 3 years ago.
> The teacher using this piano then had a very heavy touch and loved the
>resistance he got when playing.  However, a different teacher is now using
>this piano, and she is complaining about how stiff it is, especially for
>her students.  The down-weight is well over 60 grams. Unfortunately, I do
>not have in front of me the up-weight figures.  One of my questions is:
>would the new hammers have that much  more mass than the origianls to
>create that much resistance.  They are Steinway hammers.  I have no idea
>what the original hammers were like.  We have regulated the action,  used
>teflon powder on the sliding parts, etc., but will we need to remove a lot
>of hammer felt to get the weight down?
>
>Clarence Zeches