Steinway hammer rail cloth revisited

[Jon Page]

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At 04:52 PM 5/22/99 -0400, you wrote:
>After reading the comments about the Steinway hammer rail cloth, I have a 
>question.  Several of you substitute sandpaper for the cloth used by 
>Steinway.  Why do you do that?  But first, why does Steinway use the cloth?
>
>With Steinways propensity for doing everything to the n'th degree, I have a 
>theory why they use cloth.  I don't know if I am right, but I am sure some
of 
>you will tell me. 
>
>I think the reason they use cloth is to keep the action quieter. Because the 
>hammer rail is brass, when the hammer hits the string, the impact will 
>resound through the hammer shank flange to the rail. The cloth acts as a 
>buffer on that impact.  If you leave the cloth off, or replace it with a
hard 
>material, even something like sandpaper, the impact will travel through the 
>hard material, and reverberate.
>
>Any one care to discuss this? 
>
>Willem Blees RPT
>St. Louis
> 

I thought that also until I realized that the impact noise will be transmitted
via the screw to the rail. Sandpaper makes spacing more compliant.
As to why does S&S use cloth -  tradition.

Why else would they be still using those awful moulded rails in the first
place?



Jon Page,  Harwich Port,  Cape Cod,  Mass.  mailto:jpage@capecod.net
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