<font color='black' size='2' face='arial'><font class="Apple-style-span" face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif"><br> </font> <div style="font-family:helvetica,arial;font-size:10pt;color:black"><blockquote style="border-left: 2px solid blue; padding-left: 3px;"><blockquote type="cite"> <div>Well I have seen them and think they are interesting, but the process by which they are made, 'pultrusion', is not the process that achieves the stiffest result.  </div> </blockquote> <div><br> </div> I this case, I don't think they were looking for the stiffest results. In fact there are different wall thickness to achieve the desired stiffness from bass to treble.</blockquote></div> Yes, it seems that greater-than-hardwood stiffness was going to be a given, by virtue of the nature of the material.  Would even stiffer than that be even "better"?  In the sense of less energy lost, the manifest difference may only be incremental.<br> <br> <div style="clear:both"></div> Alan Eder<br> <br> <div style="font-family:helvetica,arial;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Al Guecia/Allied PianoCraft <alliedpianocraft@hotmail.com><br> To: pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Tue, May 24, 2011 1:00 am<br> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Shank questions<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_1_2776b560-930e-43fa-9844-541492b71cb6"> <br> <div> <span class="Apple-style-span" style="border-collapse: separate; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); font-family: Helvetica; font-style: normal; font-variant: normal; font-weight: normal; letter-spacing: normal; line-height: normal; orphans: 2; text-align: auto; text-indent: 0px; text-transform: none; white-space: normal; widows: 2; word-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-horizontal-spacing: 0px; -webkit-border-vertical-spacing: 0px; -webkit-text-decorations-in-effect: none; -webkit-text-size-adjust: auto; -webkit-text-stroke-width: 0px; font-size: medium; "> <div><span class="Apple-style-span" style="font-family: Arial; ">On May 23, 2011, at 6:40 PM, John Delacour wrote:</span></div> </span></div> <div><br class="Apple-interchange-newline"><blockquote type="cite"> <div>At 17:18 -0400 23/05/2011, Alan Eder wrote:<br> <br> <blockquote type="cite">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> </blockquote><br> Well I have seen them and think they are interesting, but the process by which they are made, 'pultrusion', is not the process that achieves the stiffest result.  </div> </blockquote> <div><br> </div> I this case, I don't think they were looking for the stiffest results. In fact there are different wall thickness to achieve the desired stiffness from bass to treble.</div> <div><br> </div> <div> <div style="font-family: Helvetica; ">Al -</div> <div style="font-family: Helvetica; ">High Point, NC</div> </div> <div><br> </div> <div><br> <blockquote type="cite"> <div>I have discussed the matter with someone at<br> <br> <<a target="_blank" href="http://carbonfibretubes.co.uk/custom.html">http://carbonfibretubes.co.uk/custom.html</a>><br> <br> and he is supposed to be sending me samples.  The method they use is not so fast as pultrusion but I think the difference in cost will be slight.<br> <br> However at the moment I'm interested in general observations on shanks.<br> <br> JD<br> <br> <br> </div> </blockquote></div> <br> </div>  </div> </font>