[CAUT] Hammer shank cutting block

[Edward Sambell]

Also, refer to my post on Thurs 9/18 !2.48 pm. If there are questions, I will be 
glad to answer them. I want to reiterate that a Western saw must not be used 
with the block. Japanese saws cut on the pull stroke, as I am sure we all know. 
Assuming one is right handed (I am left handed) the block is held in place with 
the left hand, which also holds the hammershank snug in the groove. As the saw 
blade is drawn to the right, the block is stable. If it were moving to the left 
as would be necessary with a western saw, and the saw snagged, the block would 
tilt upward and damage the center.Thus, this tool would never have been possible 
without the Asian pull saw. In Carl Johan-Forss's book on repairs there is a 
comparable jig for Western saws, but it is much more complicated and it looks 
less efficient.

Ironically, I left the one I had at the Banff Center when I retired, as I did 
not want to deprive their shop of what proved to be an essential item. I had 
made a few and given them away, so now I have no means of making them.I might be 
able to fashion one by assembling small pieces though. I also very strongly want 
to state the idea of the block is not mine. I got it during  the 1989 IAPBT 
Asian tour. Yat-Lam Hong attended a class where a Kawai technician demonstrated 
a similar block, and made a simple sketch without details. If he had not done 
that I would never have known of it. So the credit goes to Kawai and Yat-Lam. I 
am happy to pass the idea on. Although I prefer it to the several other methods 
I had used in the past, I am not touting it as superior to any other method. 
These days, we exchange so much information, there are always new ideas coming 
at us, and piano technicians are such an ingenious lot.

Regards to all, Ted Sambell





________________________________
From: Zeno Wood <zeno.wood at gmail.com>
To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
Sent: Fri, September 17, 2010 9:51:57 PM
Subject: [CAUT] Hammer shank cutting block

Attached is the photo of Ted Sambell's hammer shank cutting block.  He also says 
that "The idea of the three grooves is that the center one only is used until 
one reaches the last two or three notes at the top or bottom, so that the full 
width of the block sits on the flanges, which keeps it stable."

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