S&S hammer center pin to center line

[Newton Hunt]

S&S's 5.125" is what the factory calls for but when that "B" was made
the master technician hung them at what he found to be the best
location for that action/piano combination.

There is but one way to find the optimum location: sound.

Get a set of light weight hammers like Abel, Isaac, Renner or Ronson
and have them bored at 1 mm more than the difference from the keybed
-hammer center pin and keybed-string underside.  

With the action and case parts in place check the  alignment of the
action, keys, key slip and fall board.  

Hand the first and last hammers of the top section and move the action
in and out until you find the optimum location and relocate the two
hammers until the get the best, cleanest, loudest sound possible _with
the action in it's optimum location_.  

Double, triple and quadruple check the hammers location, center pin to
center line, center line at 90 degrees to the shank (careful of
tapered shanks) (true for most pianos except M&H, Bechstein and a few
others) and that the hammer is perfectly parallel to it's flight
line.  Do NOT remove the hammer from this perfect alignment but use
thin CA glue to secure it in place.  Spray some accelerator onto the
flange side of the hammer and glue on from the other side.  

Install #2 hammer to match it's neighbors and glue the rest in between
those three samples.

If you suspect hanky-panky from previous installations then go for the
5.125" on all three but change them according to the plan above.

Not rocket science but does take some time and es, ultimately, worth
the time spent to get the best results.

Also, don't use the old shanks but match the new ones carefully for
knuckle size and location.

		Newton

Ken Jankura wrote:
> 
> List,
>    I'm trying to do justice to a 1901 'B', and am wondering about the
> measurement from the hammer flange center pin to the center of the hammer
> molding. I've heard that the length, in the best of all possible worlds,
> should be 5-1/8 inches. The actual measurement on this one is 5 to 5-1/16
> inches. How sacrosanct is the theoretical? I can move the keyframe forward,
> even if I have to plane down the keyslip a little to make more room so I
> can hang hammers at 5-1/8. Does anyone do this as a matter of course to
> 'correct' this situation? I'm having a new keyboard made, and this would
> allow for longer sharps to be fitted, an added benefit.
>      Ken Jankura, RPT
>      Newburg, PA
> 
>