Pinning on new flanges

[Farrell]

Or step back into the old box. I don't recall ever hearing a good
explanation of why the screw-adjustable felt-bushed hammer shank flange is
not popular. Anyone got a take on that? I'm talking about the kind you
commonly find on large American square grands. I know David Stanwood also
experimented with them in his early action-metrology years.

Seems to me like such a perfect solution.

Terry Farrell

Sarah Fox wrote:

> But stepping outside the box, for a second, there's a problem of getting
> stuck in the groove of trying to optimize a technology that can only do
just
> so much.  Should we not be focusing on how to create tight, rigid, hard,
> frictionless, noiseless, easily serviceable bearings, rather than using
the
> same ol' technology of packing an oversized wooden hole with enough
padding
> to take up the slack and not be *too* heavy in friction, seeking to find
the
> optimal comprimise the is the least of all evils?  Bushing cloth may not
be
> the best material!  While hard bearings may be noisy, they are only noisy
if
> they are loose.  The problem with Steinway's Teflon blunder was the
> loosening of the Teflon in the wooden hole with humidity changes.
> Conceivably, with wear, there could also be a problem with noise and
runout
> (slop), as the Teflon holes wear larger.  Considering these things,
wouldn't
> the best long-range solution be to figure out a way to fix the bushing
mount
> problem -- to make the mount more resistant to deterioration from humidity
> changes and, moreover, make the bushings very easily, quickly, and cheaply
> replaceable?  What if all the hammer bushings could be replaced in the
> course of a half hour, without the need for painstaking fitting and
> refitting?  What if total replacement of bushings were done every, say,
5-20
> years (depending on usage), at a cost to the owner of perhaps $100.  Isn't
> that where we should be headed?
>
> Peace,
> Sarah