[CAUT] tight balancier

[A440A at aol.com]

Wim writes: 
<< someone mentioned that a tight 

balancier will cause a hammer to bobble. My question is, does anyone 

have a gram resistance measurement for this? << 

    I like balanciers to be pinned about 4-6 grams, (just like the jacks).  
 

>If the balancier is tight, then the spring 

will need to be tight, which could cause the hammer to bobble. But it 

is too loose, the spring would need to be loose, which could cause it 

not to hold the hammer. << 

     An excessively tight balancier will require an excessively tight spring, 
which will cause excessive friction between them.  If this is the case, the 
rebound from a very soft blow will not even move the balancier off the drop 
screw, causing the hammer to bounce.  

>>I have several pianos with bobbling hammers, especially in the 2nd and 

3rd octave. Before doing anything, I want to know what to do.  >>

      I would try repinning the balancier on those notes, reset the spring, 
and see what happens.  I would suspect that the problem is in the arc of the 
tail and the angle of the back-check.  (I like to have the springs as tight as 
possible without being able to feel the hammer kick upon release from the 
back-check). 
Regards,  
Ed