Shanks parallel to strings

[Mark Davidson]

Phil Ford wrote:

>1.  If it's bad practice, is there some explanation on offer?
>2.  Why would it reduce power delivery?  The hammer is still 
>traveling in the same path as it was before - the angle of 
>shank to hammer doesn't affect that.  If the hammer is 
>still striking perpendicular to the string why would any 
>reduction in power have occurred?

Wouldn't the distance from strike point to hammer center be 
greater? (assuming you're going above horizontal, and hammer 
is perpendicular to string when it strikes - therefore angle 
between shank and hammer is > 90)  So hammer would 
not take  quite the same path.  A slightly larger radius, I 
would think.  Now whether it would matter...well it does 
increase your moment of inertia <G>.  More practically, 
if you're measuring SWs, it would be a pain with the 
hammers not at 90 degrees to the shanks.

>3.  I don't see that the joint should be weaker.  
>If anything, having the shank not perpendicular to 
>the hammer would mean that the hole through the 
>hammer has to be a little longer, which would 
>seem to result in a stronger glue joint.

Not weaker, but if it's not 90 degrees, that would put a 
twisting force on the joint at impact that's not there 
otherwise.

>4.  I can see that this would be true if the action was 
>designed to work with the shank parallel at contact, 
>and that drastically changing this would cause various 
>things like rest rails and letoff buttons to be in the 
>wrong places for the new shank position.  But I'm 
>talking about an action that was specifically designed
 >to have the shank non-parallel at contact.  In this 
>case everything could be positioned to work properly 
>so that regulation would not be compromised.

Funny you should mention that.  The piano I am 
working on with the too-long bore distance has 
drop screws all the way up (already posted about
that) but I just figured out that it's also causing the
hammers to be way too far off the rest cushions
(Steinway - so there's no rail to adjust).

-Mark