[CAUT] Re-traveling (was Re: (no subject))

[David Ilvedson]

Hey Fred...great idea for traveling...I'll try it...

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California



----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Fred Sturm" <fssturm at unm.edu>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org>
Received: 7/14/2006 4:35:15 PM
Subject: [CAUT] Re-traveling (was Re:  (no subject))


>Hi WIm,
>	I find that I routinely re-travel every time I "re-prep" a piano,  
>and always find room for improvement. I am convinced that shanks and  
>flanges warp a wee bit, one way or the other, and this leads to some  
>changes in travel. I also think that the standard method of traveling  
>is prone to mistakes, especially resulting in large groups of hammers  
>traveling in unison in one direction or other. I have found that I  
>get much better and more consistent results by laying the stack with  
>hammers and flanges down on the workbench, then rotating the stack  
>(Steinway provides a nice long handle for the purpose <G>) rapidly up  
>and down, with the limit of motion being when jack tails and letoff  
>buttons meet. Observe the sideward motion of the hammers, focusing  
>particularly on the ends of the hammershanks protruding through the  
>hammer molding.
>	The hammers should be entirely static (well, they will move toward  
>and away from you a bit), and it is easy to see which are moving side  
>to side, even minutely. I make marks on the tail, starting on the  
>tip, on the side towards which the hammer is moving (under which I  
>will place a shim). (Second and third time through I will move the  
>marks down the tail toward the shank, to distinguish). Pencil for  
>light wood, chalk for dark. Then turn the stack up, with  
>hammerflanges and hammers up toward you (not resting on the  
>cushions), so you can see the marks. Remove, shim, replace, using  
>electric screwdriver with clutch (finger start screws every time).  
>Goes fast, yields better results than any other method I have tried.
>	I find that when I follow myself after using this method, there is  
>very little touchup to do. But there is always some, just as there is  
>always some hammer squaring to do (burning shanks). Heck, as long as  
>I'm writing, I'll describe that technique, too.
>	With the stack placed so that the hammer flanges are toward you,  
>lift each hammer in turn to the point where the shank is level with  
>the crowns of the neighboring hammers. Center the shank/molding  
>between those two crowns (use a spacing tool or loosen the screw and  
>space). Do this as anally as you possibly can, judging those  
>distances to the diameter of a hair. Now drop the hammer to rest  
>(have a straight board under the shanks for support, to keep them  
>even), and burn if needed to center the crown of that hammer  
>precisely between those same two crowns. Go to the next. I have  
>rarely come across a factory job or a rehang job (my own included)  
>that didn't have a lot of room for improvement, sometimes a whole lot.
>	Meticulous travel, square, filing, and string leveling leads to  
>voicing that goes like butter. End of harangue (I've been doing a lot  
>of this particular work for the past several weeks, both at the U and  
>at a couple concert venues, so it's fresh in my mind).
>Regards,
>Fred Sturm
>University of New Mexico
>fssturm at unm.edu



>On Jul 14, 2006, at 12:04 PM, Willem Blees wrote:

>> Two years ago I hung a new set of h,s,f on a B, and I thought I had
>> done a real good job of traveling the shanks. But this morning when I
>> put the action on my bench for routine maintenance, I discovered
>> about a dozen or so shanks that were traveling a little to one side.
>>
>> Now, am I just getting that much critical with my own work, or do
>> flanges tend to "settle" in, thus needing to be traveled again?
>>
>> Wim
>> Willem Blees, RPT
>> Piano Tuner/Technician
>> School of Music
>> University of Alabama
>> Tuscaloosa, AL USA
>>
>>
>> Willem Blees, RPT
>> Piano Tuner/Technician
>> School of Music
>> University of Alabama
>> Tuscaloosa, AL USA
>>