Steinway strike line

[Erwinspiano@AOL.COM]

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        Hi John
    Thanks for the concise post on string planes and standardbore hammers etc
    Let me start by saying that I have calculated the string plane, center 
pin height on         
    every Steinway that has passed thru my shop for the last 15 years.(Yes 
they are all over the map.) From that the bore specs. for each section are 
determined according to the needs of that section. So no standard bore 
hammers in this shop and I don't undercenter them which can obviously 
compound the strike line placement as you clearly stated.
   O.K. that being true then my experience on American Steinways at least is 
that the designers straight line strike line doesn't work all that well in 
many of there pianos.
    My colleague Scott Jones a well known and like tech worked for Steinway 
until more recently. I understand that before he worked for the company he 
was a private tech working for a stwy dealer. Apparentlyit  was his 
persistent complaint about the strike line  on the model  B that got there 
attention. Later as an employee he was able to introduce a modification to 
the plate so that a horseshoe shape is now incorporated into the plate 
instead of the strike line.
    All this to say that although this may not be news to many it is well 
known to some who deal with this in rebuilding shops and field techs. John 
the change in sound from rehanging hammers  slightly in octave 6 can make the 
difference between failure and success tonally especially with people who 
hear well and demand more from the "money"/melody notes.
   My Local symphony has a forties D that I rebuilt a few years back. This 
piano has the modified strike line now and quite improved, Another example is 
a model O that went out last week with a new belly was significantly 
disappointing  in the entire first capo section until rehung closer to the 
stretcher.   A Model A-2 that went two weeks ago came in with an original 
shrike line that the less experienced would have been tempted to straighten 
but it was an original factory line and it was working well so obviously the 
guys for finishers new how to get around this design anomaly.
   I'm not forming in hard and fast conclusion about this yet but it seems 
that those stwys whose plate sit quite close to the stretcher seem to have a 
more significant problem in this area.  Considering how things float in the 
construction of this piano its easy to surmise why this is so.

           Best----Dale Erwin

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