Hi Terry, You were questioning the hammer shanks not being square to the action rails. Del mentioned Chickering being one who didn't necessarily see the virtue in that particular concept. Another one I saw in the not so distant past was a Bluthner with their Patent Action. That design had the hammer shanks fanning from left to right as you proceeded from bass to treble and the angles were not insignificant. (Another thing that a modern pianist might not appreciate about the Bluthner Patent Action is that it wouldn't lend itself to "modernizing" with new wippens, hammers, shanks, flanges, etc. because of it's unusual design. There are those who are passionate about preserving the Bluthner Patent Action, and they can indeed be made to play wonderfully. But they are different from the touch and feel of the modern actions we're used to seeing.) Certainly, on the odd pianos where hammer shanks were fanned purposefully, one could manufacture a new and modern keyboard and action from the keyframe up, but you'd be adding considerably to the end cost. I'm finding out that a person can do almost anything given the time and the money. Unfortunately, I've got less of both than I'd like! (Welcome to the family, right?!) ;-) Just be sure to have a good look at the piano being considered for the rebuild so as to avoid surprises such as the Bluthner Patent Action (as it was for a good friend of mine) or an odd Chickering action. There may be others. Keep the eyes open and the brain switched on. You'll be ok! Good luck, Terry. Sounds like an interesting project. Brian Trout Slidell, LA trouts_place@hotmail.com _________________________________________________________________ Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at http://explorer.msn.com
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