[CAUT] hammer line

[Chris Solliday]

Jon, You have given somethings to think about. Thank you. The sorting by
knuckle height, do you think a player feels any uneveness if this is not
done, or is this mainly the elegance of straightlines? Something BTW that I
am all in favor of but had not considered.
THanks,
Chris Solliday
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Jon Page" <jonpage at comcast.net>
To: <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, February 15, 2008 10:05 AM
Subject: [CAUT] hammer line


> I weigh shanks and separate them into piles to the .1 g.
> Then I measure the height of the knuckle, measuring
> the shank too (the shank width variance is negligible)
> but the knuckles are not always pressed in the same.
> So I further break down each weight pile into three groups:
> low, med, hi.  I try to keep the variance within .010" (.25mm)
> and set aside ones out of the 'window'.
>
> I weigh the bored/tapered heads and plot their weights on a chart.
>
> According to the hammer weight, I'll select the appropriate weight shank
> to achieve as smooth of a SW curve as possible bearing in mind knuckle
> height groupings to place the med's more central and the low's and hi's at
> the extremes, screwing the shanks to the rail as I go.
>
> Grouping like-height knuckles leaves a more even let off button line and
> one less variable with note to note wippen/shank vertical placement
> (I know there's a better word for this).
>
> By assigning a specific weight shank to a hammer weight less SW adjustment
> is needed at the end of the process, ie; if the hi bass weighs 9.5 and the
low
> tenor weighs 9, using the same weight shanks will leave the .5 g
difference.
> But if you place a 1.7 g shank with the bass hammer and a 2g shank
> with the tenor you will come out with 11.2 and 11, respectively.
Depending
> on the availability of sizes, you can strive for the same weight or a
> .1g difference.
>
> I then install the hammers and let dry, then remove them from the rail.
> Next is to cut the shank protrusion off with a band saw and rough cut the
arc.
> Cut all tails to a even length ( I order longer moldings to accommodate a
> tapered bore) and sand the tails to a 3" arc. This produces a nice
> finished edge.
> Arcing removes about .3g.
>
> Now comes the final weigh off. Usually only 12 to 18 need addressing.
> I precut the hammer leads so I only need to look at the graph to install
the
> appropriate lead. If material needs to be removed. I'll first look at
> the front side
> of the cove to remove a few tenths with a Forstner bit.  I order sets
uncoved
> as well; so as not to be hindered in the arcing process with a deep cove.
The
> cove removes so little weight, it is not worth the effort in the
> scheme of things.
>
> FInally, easing the rear edges and bottom of the tail with a file.
Reinstall.
> -- 
>
> Regards,
>
> Jon Page