Gordon and list - In your concern over the billings flange butts being "all over the place," be sure that the appearance is borne out by the actual travel of the hammer shank. I have run into one situation where it was more appearance than fact; the catcher shanks were not all pointing in the same direction. I pickup up a ca 1900 Steinway upright from another technician who decided he needed the space, and with it a set of butts and double flanges he had obtained from the local S&S dealer for rebuilding the action. I found I had, not Steinway parts, but from some supplier, I know not whom. It was possible with much filing and fitting to make them do, but the finished result was, among other things, a line of catchers that were very uneven. Travel did not seem to be a problem in that case. In the case of the Billings Flanges, the actual travel of the hammer shank would be controlled by the angle of the pin as it is held in the flange. If the holes in the butt were bored out-of-line, the butt would be crooked but the travel would follow the axis of the pin in the flange. If that axis is not parallel to the action rail, I would unpin the butt, screw the flange with a pin in it to the rail and with a pliers twist till it is straight (or paper the flange as in a grand). Bill Maxim, RPT
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