hammer travel

[Frank Emerson]

I can't speak for Steinway, but many other top-notch manufacturers design
the action scale to be different from the strike point scale.  I described
this in my previous post.  In the case of a piano that is designed to have
a left to right tilt in the hammer, to optimize the spacing between the
hammers as one rises between its neighbors, if new hammers have been
replaced perfectly plumb, without this left to right tilt, a new problem is
created.  Under these circumstances, the hammers will have to be forced out
of alignment with the whippen in order to get the hammer centered under the
string.  If this is the case, it is not an error in the design or
construction of the piano, but an error in the installation of the new
hammers.

Frank Emerson
pianoguru at earthlink.net


> [Original Message]
> From: <A440A at aol.com>
> To: <pianotech at ptg.org>
> Date: 9/19/2006 11:35:41 AM
> Subject: Re: hammer travel
>
>  
> << While we are there, I heard that some (very respectable) technicians
do 
> put a little horizontal travel (to the left) on the few lower tenor
hammers, on 
> Steinway pianos.  Is this common practice ?  What is the reason therefor
? >>
>
> Greetings,
>      It is never better, but often  seen.  Steinway string spacing is an 
> inexact component of the piano.  It is not uncommon to have the lowest
two or 
> three tenor hammers to be spaced far to the left of their whippen
cushions, simply 
> to hit the strings, (whose agraffe drilling may have spread leftward when 
> drilled, or maybe the holes in the rails, or the bridge. Whatever, the 
> consistancy of Steinway string spacing is low).  
>     Sometimes it is expeditious to allow the lowest hammers to travel in 
> order to minimize the requiste mis-alignment that hammer spacing
requires. 
>     Another reason is to allow the hammers to clear, if the rake angle is
too 
> severe for hammer to hammer clearance.  
>       Another thing to think about is that the factory doesn't seem to 
> consider traveling hammers to be a problem, and often use the traveling
to 
> accommodate inconsistant string spacing to an even hammer spacing at
rest.  Appearances 
> are important and this seems to be a case of appearance taking priority
over 
> performance.  Maybe a little mis-alignment is no problem, but it seems
that 
> pinning problems occur more often in these situations, and if the hammer
is 
> moving sideways, does it flex under hard blows?  Is traveling a voicing
issue?  
> Pinning is. 
> Regards, 
>  
> Ed Foote RPT 
> http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html
> www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html
>  
>