<HTML> <HEAD> <TITLE>Re: [CAUT] strikeweight</TITLE> </HEAD> <BODY> Hey, Albert & List, Allow me to lend my expertise.  Your data collection procedure was quite good.  If you’re going to re-weigh the shanks, though, we can really make this slick.  First, just replace the dead weight data with shank strike weight.  Then, rather than simply have an ordinal ranking of pitch, group shanks together that have essentially the same pitch.  You can use any increment you want, half-step, quarter-step, whatever, then number the groups 1-5, 1-10, etc.  Finally, instead of having two separate groups for full-size vs thinned, add another column and give each shank a “0” if it’s full size and a “1” if it’s thinned.  Or, for Renner shanks it could be 0, 1, 2 since they have two degrees of thinning.  Post that to the list and I’ll do a quick regression analysis and tell everybody what I find.  If anyone else wants to do some measuring, feel free and send me the data.  More data is always better.  Also, tell me what make of shank you have; that may make some kind of difference if they use different wood.  Just to make sure we’re all on the same page, here’s the data scheme: Shank Profile (thinned or not) Pitch (grouped as seems natural to you) Shank Strike Weight (in grams, to the nearest tenth) Flange Center Friction (in grams, to the nearest tenth) Put that all in an Excel file or a tab-delimited text file and email it.  I’ll probably be off this list by the end of the summer, but my email here, ZahringerK@missouri.edu, will be active for several years.  If anyone sends data after the end of July, you should send it to me as well as the list.  I’ll make sure my results are posted to the CAUT list even if I’m not a regular subscriber. Regards, Ken Zahringer On 5/14/08 10:38 PM, "Albert Picknell" <agghubii@yahoo.ca> wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE>Well, while I've got the shanks still sitting in order, maybe I'll measure them and see.  I expect there'll be some kind of correlation in a general sense, but lots of shanks that deviate from the trend as well.  That's one of the things I love about working with wood.  It's so.... unpredictable.         Albert    "David C. Stanwood" <stanwood@tiac.net> wrote:    <BLOCKQUOTE>Albert, When I visited Steingraeber in Germany in 2002 I saw that they always mount the shanks on the rail and then hit it with a little hammer and listened to the tone that way. I've heard reference to other German Companies using the technique as well. Since learning this I've often wondered if there is any correlation with the shank tone and sorting the shanks by Shank Strike (radius) Weight. It would be nice if they both went together! David </BLOCKQUOTE>    <HR ALIGN=CENTER SIZE="1" WIDTH="100%">Looking for the perfect gift? Give the gift of Flickr! <a href="http://www.flickr.com/gift/"><http://www.flickr.com/gift/></a> </BLOCKQUOTE> -- Ken Zahringer, RPT Piano Technician MU School of Music 297 Fine Arts 882-1202 cell 489-7529 </BODY> </HTML>