<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">JD</font>
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<div><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">Have you tried or heard about Wessel, Nickel & Gross' composite hammershanks? They, too, are conducting an experiment, on hundreds (or, maybe by now, thousands) of pianos. These shanks are very consistent and significantly stiffer than those made of wood. I just ordered a set. Some on the list have already tried them.<br>
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Alan Eder<br>
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<div style="font-family:helvetica,arial;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br>
From: John Delacour <JD@Pianomaker.co.uk><br>
To: pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org><br>
Sent: Mon, May 23, 2011 8:44 am<br>
Subject: [pianotech] Shank questions<br>
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I don't recall any recent discussion on the question of hammer shanks
and would be interested to hear others' experience. The immediate
reason for this is that I have just begun an experiment with my
Brinsmead concert grand. This now has new specially-made Abel
'Naturfilz' hammers with walnut cores and is sounding quite terrific
but I want to spend time getting the ultimate out of it.
In the 1890's Brinsmead fitted a shank made of a wood the colour of
black walnut, which I have never identified properly, but this piano
is earlier (ca. 1876) and has 7/32 maple shanks, very well selected.
On lesser models they were still using cedar at this time.
What I did today was to run a line of glue along the top of the shank
and glue along the whole length of the shank bamboo kebab stick,
lashing them together till the glue set. Before doing this I chose
two adjacent notes that seemed to me to be sounding so similar as to
be indistinguishable at first hearing -- of course the ear gets more
critical as these experiments proceed.
The increased stiffness of the doctored shank was, obviously, quite
marked, and I will say nothing of the tonal difference I detected,
first because I want to hear what you think and then I want to go
forward with the experiment. Suffice it to say that I did notice an
interesting difference in the behaviour of the two notes that I had
originally selected for their similarity.
Now Steinway were using round maple shanks well into the 20th century
while many other makers were using Herburrger's octagonal pattern,
also of hard maple. Nowadays many shanks, at least in Europe, are
both octagonal and of hornbeam. Then there is the fashion for the
oval shanks in the treble, which I have never been convinced was
anything more than a fad. Perhaps you have views on this. Early in
my career a Dutch technician recommended scalloping the underneath of
the shanks in the treble, which would render them more flexible
rather than less. I have never yet tested his theory, but it would
be interesting.
I'd like to hear your guess as to the difference my experiment might
have made, but more importantly I'd like to hear what people have
experienced more generally with different shank shapes and materials.
It could be an interesting thread.
I'm writing this to the old list because I see no change in the new
set-up and find it quite unusable and full of errors.
JD
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