RE Grand whippen retrofit

[Jon Page]

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Jack,
Do not be afraid of a rocker arm action.  They are quite stable once
you have them under control.  As Jim C. pointed out, they are a low
friction design. Those 88 set screws on the sticker only take a few
minutes to loosen/tighten.

Unless the parts are useless, do not replace them just to install more
familiar parts. Since you are not familiar with action geometry, this may not
be the best candidate for you to get your feet wet.

I felt the same way when I first encountered these mechanisms. But after I
became familiar with them, I would not change them.

Now, I happen to like sticker actions. In fact, today I was delving on the
possibilities of installing stickers on a modern action. From the few I have
seen
the friction is considerably lower by removing the capstan/cushion interface.
Lower friction makes for optimum repetition.

The best arrangement I have seen so far is on an Ibach where the sticker had a
turnbuckle midway, which adjusted as easily as a capstan. The key had the 'pin
mount' screwed to the keystick.  This arrangement added only about 5 to 10
minutes
to the top action removal/reinstallation process. For the added benefit of
reduced
friction, that is a small price to pay.

Convenience isn't everything.

Make it work first. if there is a problem with regulation, determine why.
It probably won't be because of the sticker but rather the hammer length.

There are many things to consider. make it work. That may be enough.

Have a pleasant weekend,

Jon Page



At 01:41 AM 5/28/99 -0400, you wrote:
>I have in my care a George Steck 8'-9'(?) grand with a very unusual 
>whippen/capstan configuration. Instead  of a cushion, the whippens are
pinned 
>to a kind of sticker(flange?). One end of the sticker is pinned to the 
>whippen and the other is pinned to the capstan. (Thankfully, this end has a 
>set screw!) The capstan is the double screw type capstan accessible only
with 
>an offset screwdriver.
>
>I don't relish the thought of loosening 88 set screws just to remove the 
>stack, nor do I look forward to regulating the hammer blow once I replace
the 
>hammers.
>
>My question is this:   
>
>If I replace the odd whippens with conventional ones and replace the old 
>capstans with 1"(?) dowel capstans, am I asking for trouble with the action 
>geometry?
>
>Does anybody have any experience/suggestions for how to go about changing 
>them?
>
>Or is it better just to live with the old parts if they are still
serviceable?
>
>Okay, okay, that's three questions, but you get the idea. 
>
>Thanks,                Jack Lofton, RPT        Seattle
> 

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