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

[Fred Sturm]

Hi David,
    No cradle. Stack is off the keyframe. It is placed upside down on the
bench, hammers and hammerflange screws in contact with the bench surface.
The hammers stay in contact with the bench, while the action frame is
pivoted upward (the hammerflange screws also stay down, the wipp flange rail
is lifted). Does this explain it better? With a Steinway, you just lift on
the sostenuto rod. And lift until the jack tenders are in contact with the
letoff felts. Do the lifting with one hand, pencil in the other hand to mark
the tails of hammers that move.
Regards,
Fred Sturm
University of New Mexico


On 7/17/06 1:51 PM, "David Ilvedson" <ilvey at sbcglobal.net> wrote:

> Is the stack being held in an action cradle?   Seems like marking hammer tails
> would be a pain if you had to set it down before marking?
> 
> David Ilvedson, RPT
> Pacifica, CA  94044
> 
> 
> ----- Original message ----------------------------------------
> From: "Willem Blees" <wblees at bama.ua.edu>
> To: "College and University Technicians" <caut at ptg.org>
> Received: 7/16/2006 5:14:59 PM
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Re-traveling (was Re:  (no subject))
> 
> 
>> Fred
> 
>> Thank you for a very comprehensive method of traveling. It's exactly
>> the way I do it. I have even developed a class, called "Have heat gun,
>> will travel", where I basically go over the same procedures. But
>> perhaps, as you stated, I get more and more particular as I keep doing
>> it, and as Hubert said, living here in Alabama also makes it more
>> challenging. 
> 
>> Wim 
> 
> 
>> Quoting Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu>:
> 
>>> 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
>>> 
>>> 
>>>
>