Capstan Relocation

[Farrell]

I'll venture my guess here. My assumption is this: Set yourself up as though
you were going to measure key downweight. Press a key down until the jack
tender just touches the let-off button (there is likely some good technique
here to ensure that one does not nudge the jack partially through let off).
Place a sufficient amount of mass on the key end until the key goes through
escapement. See how much weight was required, and now you have your
"escapement weight"?. Maybe we would even get to nudge it a tad by tapping
on the rail???

I am often suprised at how escapement AND damper weight are never (oops! -
rarely) talked about. The escapement is felt (or is it buckskin?) every time
the note is sounded. And unless one has the sustain pedal depressed, the
damper weight is lifted for half the keystroke each time. I don't think I
have ever heard of any guidelines for desirable downweight/upweight effects
due to these. Are there any? Certainly the pianist would let you know if
they were apparent!

Terry Farrell
Piano Tuning & Service
Tampa, Florida
mfarrel2@tampabay.rr.com

----- Original Message -----
From: "Richard Moody" <remoody@midstatesd.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, October 22, 2000 12:47 AM
Subject: Re: Capstan Relocation


> You wrote....
>
> >and we're  all left playing actions with 150g+ escapements. Go figure.
>
> What is 150g+ escapements?     ---ric
>
>
> > To my knowledge there's only one shank which will achieve this and
> > that's the aeolean shank of the '20s, in which reducing the knuckle
> > to the one quadrant of it actually used by the jack, cut the height
> > of the standard knuckle by 1/2. You're right, none of the R&D dept's
> > in our favorite piano factories  have been concerned enough with
> > towing this line (axis) to find a better shaped knuckle, and we're
> > all left playing actions with 150g+ escapements. Go figure.
> >
> > Bill Ballard RPT
> > NH Chapter
> >
>
>
>