Jack-return-time experiment

[James Ellis]

In a previous post, I suggested an experiment to determine how fast the
jack gets back under the knuckle, the hammer first begins to move, the
hammer returns, and the key rises, after the key is released, for different
arrangements of key loading.  Since I don't have a high speed camera, my
plan was to rig an action model with sets of electrical contacts and very
fine (hair sized) wires to tell me when certain things happen.  I'm having
to rearrange my priorities for the next two or three months, and that
experiment has to be put low on the list.  If someone else can do it before
I can, that would be fine.  If not, I'll probably get to it eventually.  

This might be a good project for some of you folks at a university with a
mechanical engineering department that has a high-speed camera.  It might
be a good opportunity for some music-minded engineering students to get
some more "hands-on" experience.  If you do it, you might consider rigging
up some sort of trigger release for the key, so that the speed with which
the finger is removed from the key will not be a factor.

Sincerely, Jim Ellis