Hi Barbara I suppose you mean the rake of the hammers ?... i.e. the angle they are to the shank ? If so... I dont think you need to worry about what they are <<supposed>> to be because there are several quite acceptable schools of thought on hammer rake. Assuming you dont have any clearance problems between the belly rail and the plate up in the higher treble... as for example some Bechsteins at the top and at the break between the top and treble sections, you can approach this several ways. My default is to make the hammers 90 ¤ with the shank at string contact. You do know how to find the proper bore length yes ?... If you are replacing much of the action, I suppose you should deal with your checking problems after you get all the new parts on. Cheers RicB Hi all, Just looking for any advice or a method for determining hammer pitch. The piano is a 1929 Knabe 5'8" grand that was rebuilt in the late 1970s with really big hammers. The hammers are resting on the rail and there is 1 3/4" strike distance. The shanks were replaced also--sort of an interesting job was done to modify the flanges (there is a cut out) to fit the rail. I looked briefly at the piano, noticed it doesn't check well, but didn't take the time to determine the problem in checking (oops). I talked with Ray at Ronsen and he said the pitch of the hammers varied. My experience in action rebuilding is limited and this is the first time I've run into an already rebuilt action that needs to be replaced (one that's not a Steinway, anyway). Can anyone point me in the direction of or, tell me where to find the information of what to do when you don't have the original hammers and need to determine what the pitch should be? Thanks, Barbara Richmond, RPT near Peoria, Illinois
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