Hi Jack: This action is probably the old French Prolonge action. It was the favorite of Iturbi. He had a special Baldwin grand with this type action. he loved it. There is less friction at the capstan with this arrangement. Sure, the regulation is a little different, but to him it was worth it. Jim Coleman, Sr. On Fri, 28 May 1999 Loftune@AOL.COM wrote: > I have in my care a George Steck 8'-9'(?) grand with a very unusual > whippen/capstan configuration. Instead of a cushion, the whippens are pinned > to a kind of sticker(flange?). One end of the sticker is pinned to the > whippen and the other is pinned to the capstan. (Thankfully, this end has a > set screw!) The capstan is the double screw type capstan accessible only with > an offset screwdriver. > > I don't relish the thought of loosening 88 set screws just to remove the > stack, nor do I look forward to regulating the hammer blow once I replace the > hammers. > > My question is this: > > If I replace the odd whippens with conventional ones and replace the old > capstans with 1"(?) dowel capstans, am I asking for trouble with the action > geometry? > > Does anybody have any experience/suggestions for how to go about changing > them? > > Or is it better just to live with the old parts if they are still serviceable? > > Okay, okay, that's three questions, but you get the idea. > > Thanks, Jack Lofton, RPT Seattle >
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