On Tue, Jun 22, 2010 at 10:30 AM, Nicholas Gravagne <ngravagne at gmail.com>wrote: > For those of you familiar with the new Wessell, Nickel and Gross (WNG) > composite action parts: > > Having recently installed WNG whippens along with shanks and flanges (w/ > the new hard bushings) I have a couple of questions. > > 1) What is your general, overall sense of these parts in terms of > regulation and performance? For one thing, we are finding the rep springs > way too strong, requiring more than usual "uncoiling" to obtain correct > spring strength. The shank flange friction is within WNG specs of 2 to 4 > grams as measured per the WNG site. > > 2) Have you encountered clicking sounds, reminiscent of the old S&S Teflon > bushings? We have on about 8 treble notes. The clicking also might have been > loose hammer heads, but these were checked and also reinforced (front and > back joints) with CA glue, followed by making sure of flange and action > screw tightness. > > Still clicking. Since the flange bushings are hard (as opposed to the > earlier WNG parts which came with cloth bushings) we cannot easily check / > repin these centers. Any WNG-specific insight on the source of clicking? > > Some quick thoughts: > > The action is an old Boston M&H BB that was heavily leaded. The lighter > weight and lower inertia WNG parts, including the low-mass capstans, allowed > for a significant amount of lead removal and / or reduction. > > The shanks "burn" easily and surely with a heat gun. > > The WNG "action glue" recommended for hammers, etc., works fine as long as > you don't readjust previously glued hammers (as is often done with hot > glue). If you see one leaning that was glued a few minutes earlier, better > to let it dry and then burn it over later. > > > Very few flanges required travel paper. > > Overall flange friction, whips and shanks, is fairly consistent. > > Trimming and / or sanding off the hammer shank (tube) stubs after the > hammer glue has dried creates a black powder, some of which migrates into > the hollow tube only to escape later on to your nice, clean backchecks. > Break up the fibrous material in the tubes with a wire and vacuum out, or > else allow the shanks to hang vertical and shake-'n-tap the powder out. > > Am probably forgetting something. Will post more when I know (or remember) > more. > > I know that Bruce Clark is storehouse of knowledge here, but I am also > interested in varied input and experience from working techs. > > Thanks > > -- > Nick Gravagne, RPT > AST Mechanical Engineering > I experienced the "clicking" you are referring to, I believe. I replaced hammers & shanks & flanges on 2 actions about a year ago using WN&G shanks & flanges. The clicking occured when I turned up the drop screws to adjust letoff then turned them down again. The composite isn't as forgiving as wood, the screws become loose in the flange and click when the rep lever is pushed against them, I used liquid hide glue (Franklin's bottle kind) to rectify the problem. A little drop worked into the drop screw hole fills the loose area & stops the clicking. I experienced problems early on with WN&G's recommended glue(included with the set of shanks/flanges). After having spoken with one of their techs who assured me it would work, I went back to my Franklin Molding & Trim glue which I've been using for the last 4 or 5 years now. I had to go to a larger drillbit forboring my hammers to allow for the thick viscosity of the glue but it allows up to 8 minutes of adjustment time before setting & softens easily w/a heatgun after it's set & re-hardens when it cools. The 2 sets I did were in schools, one was a C5 in a high school used 5 to 7 hours a day, the other in a middle school used nearly as often. No problems in either. It was a Packard from the '20's with original pear shaped knuckles, I matched the flanges/shanks by overlaying the old over the pics in the catalogues to find a match by lining up the key points then changed it over. Good luck, Mike -- It is the mark of an educated mind to be able to entertain a thought without accepting it. Aristotle (384 BC - 322 BC) Michael Magness Magness Piano Service 608-786-4404 www.IFixPianos.com email mike at ifixpianos.com -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100624/4a4c30c2/attachment.htm>
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