John, Yes, but what about upright action with "grand" checks, and uncovered, and slightly roughened spurs? Surely this is cost effective, as at least one part is then interchangeable, in the factory, between grands and uprights? > Just convenience and cost, I guess. I have seen old grand pianos > with pretty shaped tails covered in buckskin falling against heavy > buckskin or elkskin checks. Erard and others with the forked shank > used elkskin on the hammer and a nickeled brass check. Both require > considerable extra expense. I have an upright from 1880 with the > stop blocks covered in buckskin and the check heads in 1/4" elkskin > -- durable to be sure, but at a high price. > > Buckskin against hard felt checks is effective and pretty durable if > the checks are bent at the right angle. Unfortunately this is often > not the case, so the buckskin wears out at the bottom and the felt is > eroded. The upright hammer has no tendency to jump out of check, so > attention is too often not paid to this detail. > > JD > >
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