Swing Test

[A440A@aol.com]

Dennis writes;

> recall seeing a hammerflange pinning weight years ago which supposedly
>came from Steinway. This fit through the screw hole and friction was to be
>set so that the flange slowly dropped when holding the shank.  I do not
>know how much it weighed.

     I have one of these.  It weighs 5.5 grams, has the Steinway logo on it
and all. Giving a class ,(1978),  Fred Drasche demonstrated it's use.
    He placed it in the flange,(large teflon), then shook the shank with his
hand until the flange moved. He said if you cannot make the flange move, then
the pinning is too tight!
    This didn't make sense to me then, still doesn't now,  but that is the
way it was shown.

    In regards to the manner in which factory pinning is set;
the difference between graduation of friction,(by swinging the hammers), and
pinning all the flanges to one specific tension, seems to be far less than
the inherent inconsistancies in many factory jobs.  i.e.,  upon taking all
the hammershanks off several new high quality grands, it is not unusual to
find ranges from two to 6 swings from one note to the next!  (there have been
several reasons I have removed whole sets from new pianos, all of them
unflattering, but that is a different thread).
    My point is,  any technician that carefully and properly repins a set of
hammer shanks by either swinging the hammers, or using one gram spec. for all
of them, will probably be closer to an ideal median,  than what the factory
has sent out originally!!

    {and for another  $.02 worth},  the pinning on the balancier, and the
friction involved with the repetition spring contact will have a greater
influence on how well the action can be regulated than the friction in the
hammerflange,( within a reasonable range, of course)

regards to all,
Ed Foote,
(Spring is here, I can hear them soundboards swelling!)