[CAUT] Fwd: Steinway sound-Hammer weights

[Dale Erwin]

Del
  I was aware of what you are saying as far as the string lengths and sound board size etc not be all that much  bigger in larger pianos. I just did not take the time to say so. Good information.
    I don't really have time to go much further than this (prepping for convention) but but, I have looked at a few more samples of hammer weights from other pianos. 
   I weigh and prep a lot of hammers for Ronsen clients and one of the heaviest over all are Yamaha C-7s. Ever played with the weights here? I usually choose to drop off about 1/2 gram or so on the bass end as the first bass hammer often weighs over 10.5 grams and extends a pretty tubby amount of weight thru the bass/tenor. Usually I find that actions with good overall key/action ratios (ie 5.5) are sabotaged with this kind of weight yet Yamahas seem to handle it better than I would guess. Any thoughts.
  

 

 

Dale S. Erwin
www.Erwinspiano.com
Custom restoration
Ronsen Piano hammers
Join the Weickert felt Revolution
209-577-8397
209-985-0990



 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Delwin D Fandrich <del at fandrichpiano.com>
To: caut at ptg.org
Sent: Wed, Mar 2, 2011 1:31 pm
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd:  Steinway sound-Hammer weights



Full size, I think. The Model S starts with 12-1/2 gage wire, the Model D with 13-1/2 gage.
 
Still, these numbers are not all that different in most pianos regardless of size and most pianos—again, regardless of size—start with #13 gage wire (or the metric equivalent). I’ve not found the hammer requirements to vary much up there. From roughly there down, yes, of course. 
 

Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
620 South Tower Avenue
Centralia, Washington 98531 USA
del at fandrichpiano.com
ddfandrich at gmail.com
Phone  360.736.7563

 

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of David Love
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 9:32 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd: Steinway sound-Hammer weights

 
One thing about this, however, is that the string gauges in these sections (on the D) are a half size (or more) larger boosting both the mass and tension in these sections.   Wouldn’t that combined with a slightly heavier assembly to accommodate that tend to boost the hammer mass requirements?
 

David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com

 

From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Delwin D Fandrich
Sent: Wednesday, March 02, 2011 8:15 AM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd: Steinway sound-Hammer weights

 
Just how much does the string mass change in the treble section of a piano like the Model S compared to, say, a Model D? I just pulled up one each randomly selected Model S scale and Model D scale. The Model D has this:
     C-88 length = 49 mm
     C-76 length = 99 mm
     C-64 length = 184 mm
The Model S has this:
     C-88 length = 58 mm
     C-76 length = 97 mm
     C-64 length = 182 mm
 
String scales certainly do change with the length of the piano further on down the scale but for the top two octaves, well, the guy notching the bridges could have been off that far. I tend to end up with hammers of the quite similar mass in the top octave or two regardless of piano length. 
 
ddf
 
Delwin D Fandrich
Piano Design & Fabrication
620 South Tower Avenue
Centralia, Washington 98531 USA
del at fandrichpiano.com
ddfandrich at gmail.com
Phone  360.736.7563
 
From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Dale Erwin
Sent: Tuesday, March 01, 2011 8:27 PM
To: caut at ptg.org
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Fwd: Steinway sound-Hammer weights
 

Hey David
 Comments below

 

Dale S. Erwin
www.Erwinspiano.com
Custom restoration


FWIW those original hammers at 8.5 and 3 grams respectively produce strike weights around 10.3 grams for note 1 and 4.6 grams for note 88. This will vary depending on the type of shank used. ie An Abel tapered shank yields about .3 tenths of a gram lighter than a non tapered one & I suspect the WNG type even lighter yet. Something else to factor in when choosing a strike weight. The numbers I posted earlier for the S fall into the next to lowest place on the hammer weight part of the chart so I would call that  l really light and appropriate for a small piano but an S is a really small piano.  As  the size grows so does the string mass, soundboard mass etc. And this is pretty much what I find in countless pianos. 



 
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