hammer drop

[Joel Rappaport]

Jan Otto has gotten some very good answers about this situation.  I
would like to throw out one more point to keep in mind:  hammers worn
past their acceptable point.

Jan writes the Kimball grand is only 12 years old (hammers couldn't be
_that_ worn) but it is at a college (well, maybe they are).  Also, I
wish that hammer blow distance could be checked and verified (2-9/16"
from hammer crown to string?).

As hammers wear and are filed, then the action regulated again, the let
off buttons and drop screws must be raised along with the hammer line. 
One of the criteria we have for determining if the hammers need to be
replaced is if the drop screws are so far up that they 1) are at the top
of their travel and can't go up any  more and/or 2) the tops of the drop
screws scrape the bottom of the pin block as the action is pushed in.

Either this is something Jan is experiencing or something to watch out
for.

Joel Rappaport
Round Rock, Texas