Not near zero friction n the hammer shank flange joint. The set I am putting on a Steinway A miked out with the vast majority at 2 to 3 grams, with a couple a little above and a couple a little below. Very consistent but not near zero. As for near zero friction, I don't think that would be desirable, even if you could keep the hammer from wobbling. I believe that pianists would feel it more difficult to control. As for the shank having zero flex, that would be quite an accomplishment! No such material exists that is absolutely and infinitely rigid. Carbon fiber flexes and bends just like any other material, just with its own set of characteristics. My skis have carbon fiber in them. The amount of stiffness is calculated and controlled to achieve a desired flex pattern, and that is likely true for these WNG shanks as well. I haven't heard anyone from WNG arguing for Zero Flex. I can't speak for them, but I believe that that are trying to achieve a different stiffness pattern than wood, but with more control and consistency of that and the weight of the shank. Whether or not that is your cup of tea or not is for each of us to make up our mind. I think that, unless we have a controlled testing means, such as the ability to move the same hammer head from a carbon fiber shank to a wood one and back again, it would be difficult to have much certainty as to exactly what we are hearing, since hammers themselves exert so much influence over the tone we are hearing, and vary so much from set to set, or even hammer to hammer. Will Truitt From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Andrew Anderson Sent: Tuesday, January 26, 2010 3:04 PM To: Pianotech List Subject: Re: [pianotech] Brambach Action - was Odd wippen Joe, They have installed it in pianos and some people like it. I sure would like to try one out to see how differently it would voice. Another interesting thing is Mr. Burgett believes in near zero friction on the shank hammer flange joint. He said the issue with loose pinning robbing tonal power on wooden actions was a wobbly hammer, something not an issue on that combination with WNG's proprietary felt prep process. Very interesting stuff, very light. Should reduce leading a little. Thinking about trying it out on my wife's C.G. whenever I ever get time... Andrew Anderson On Jan 26, 2010, at 10:54 AM, Joseph Garrett wrote: William, It may be possible to use the WNG stuff. However, you need to know that the overall length of the wippen assembly is much shorter than most "standard" wippens that are available available from any source. So, it would appear that a need for new action brackets/rails and such would be required. One item in the WNG package that I would never use is their "Hammer Shanks"!@! Their concept of a shank that has Zero Flex is not in keeping with the way an action repeats, IMHO!! If you doubt that, put a standard marimba mallet head on a piece of steel and see what kind of tone it produces!!<G> Regards, Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares R I ----- Original Message ----- From: William Truitt <mailto:surfdog at metrocast.net> To: joegarrett at earthlink.net;pianotech at ptg.org Sent: 1/25/10 3:12:08 PM Subject: RE: [pianotech] Brambach Action - was Odd wippen I was thinking Brambach too. I regulated one about a dozen or so years ago. Could this be a candidate for the WNG composite modular whippens if need be? Will Truitt From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Joseph Garrett Sent: Monday, January 25, 2010 5:57 PM To: pianotech Subject: [pianotech] Brambach Action - was Odd wippen William said: " Don't really know. The action came out of a piano in an attempt to "make it work" again. A previous technician enjoyed "re-whatevering" the thing to death. The person managed to install a new pinblock without coving the front edge, so the fallboard can't open/close. Well, OK, it can, but you have to unscrew the cheek blocks and remove the fallboard to perform said action. I managed to remove enough material to get THAT working again. And yes, it appears the previous person really had fun hanging new hammers. Maybe he did it in situ. That would explain the glue globs on top of all the key end felts. There were no names/serial numbers anywhere on the piano that I could find. Nothing on the plate, soundboard, fallboard, action, etc. Here's a couple other photos of the action, too. Any other regulatory suggestions welcomed. Thanks for the help so far...." William, Definately a Brambach! (It may have had a different name on the name board, but was made by Brambach). Bolster the "knuckles" with key bushing cloth, as the leather needs to be taunt and slightly rounded. Align the jacks as I previously mentioned. The rest is pretty much standard regulation practices. Approx. 3/8" dip was on the original action. However, with the basic "can of worms" you are dealing with, ....lotsaluck....whatever works will suffice. These actions can be quite nice when they are set up correctly. As I said, I own one. A 5'1" POS/PSO, that has it's own Anvil Case.<G> I have rented it out for lots of Community type Concerts In The Park thingees. Most pianists were pleasantly surprised at my little PSO.<G> It's painted White, since the original case/furniture was pretty trashed by the R&R Band that toted it all over the country.<G> (Long Sto ry) Still has it's original plain wire scale and "painted gold soundboard".<G> Bass strings were replaced, but didn't help much as the backscale is real short. Good luck on the repairs, it is possible to make it a viable piano.<G> Regards, Joe Joe Garrett, R.P.T. (Oregon) Captain, Tool Police Squares R I -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: <http://ptg.org/pipermail/pianotech.php/attachments/20100126/adbe8158/attachment.htm>
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC