Tension gauge (was teflon lube)

[Don Mannino]

Ed Hilbert wrote:

>>Someone earlier drided the swing test saying that he preferred the
guage for measuring hammer flange tightness.  I would disagree.  Since the
weight of the hammers graduates from one end to the other, having the same
resistance on each flange will not give the same response withing the action.
On the other hand, if all hammers swing the same number of swings on the
swing test, than the resistance within the flanges has also been graduated
to match the weight of the hammers.  That's an automatic match.<<

I have some thoughts:
- What do you mean by matching? What do you mean by "same response within the
action?" It does not seem logical to me that heavier hammers should have
increased friction in the hammer center.  This only compounds the drawback of
uneven touch throughout the scale.  Where is the benefit of "matching" increased
mass with increased friction?
- If you measure total action friction in the bass vs. the treble in a grand
action, the friction is already greater in the bass, even with the hammer center
friction being equal throughout. Why increase the friction still more in the
bass? Does this additional friction give anything to the pianist? One could
argue that added dampening of the hammer motion might help make key / hammer
bounce on release more consistent throughout the scale. I don't agree that this
slight potential benefit in bass repetition would justify the increased
resistance cause by the added friction, especially since other action friction
is already higher on the bass.
- The most critical hammer centers for tight control of the hammer motion
(meaning no sloppiness in the hammer center) is the mid-treble area, where
maximum tone is required from a somewhat weak area of the scale. If the friction
is tight enough for good tone there, that is plenty of control for the bass
hammers. In other words, the higher mass of the bass hammers does not demand as
much control of the parts as the higher tonal demands placed on the action in
the critical mid-treble.  An exception might be in an action with poor quality
(spongy) bushing cloth, but that can be dealt with in other ways.
- Can you name a manufacturer who uses a tapered friction approach? It could be
done, just as thinned shanks and graduated repetition springs are common
practice.

Don Mannino
74473.624@compuserve.com