[pianotech] Hammer rake angle

Keith McGavern kam544 at allegiance.tv
Thu Aug 20 21:31:10 MDT 2009


Jurgen,

I don't know about consensus, but I personally would not change the  
angle.

I purchased an older Steinway Upright, #61799, 1887-89 years ago that  
had an extreme hammer rake angle as you mention the Heintzman has. The  
Steinway also had a full sustenuto. It rake definitely looked out of  
place with the majority of vertical pianos I have serviced, but this  
Steinway's sound and performance were unaffected. It played and  
sounded great for its age with only some reconditioning and tuning.

It eventually became part of the Havana Piana program earlier this  
decade.

Keith

On Aug 20, 2009, at 8:35 PM, Jurgen Goering wrote:

> What is the consensus on a proper rake angle for boring and hanging  
> upright hammers?
>
> I am working on a ca 1910 54" tall Heintzman piano, it is a really  
> fine instrument, complete with a full sostenuto.  The original  
> hammer rake angle is a full five degrees throughout.  It looks quite  
> extreme, yet I am reluctant to change it without a good reason on  
> the new hammers I will hang.  Is there a good reason to change it to  
> a more "normal" 2 degrees?
>
> Why is it that most upright hammers do not strike the strings at 90  
> degrees like most grands?
>
> Jurgen Goering

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