<font color='navy' size='2' face='Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif'>Pe<font color="navy" face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif" size="2">rhaps using a water thin epoxy like rot doctor to quickly coat the average set of wooden shanks would seem to me to add some stiffness as well and secondarily....<br>   humidity resistance. Just muttering out loud here.<br> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div style="clear:both"><b><font color="indigo" face="Georgia, Times New Roman, Times, Serif" size="1"><font size="1">Dale S. Erwin<br> </font><font size="1">www.Erwinspiano.com<br> </font><font size="1"><font size="1"></font>209-577-8397</font></font></b><font size="2"><br> "<font size="1">We are what we repeatedly do.<br>  Excellence then, is not an act, but a habit."<br> -Aristotle</font></font><br> <br> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> <div style="font-family:arial,helvetica;font-size:10pt;color:black">-----Original Message-----<br> From: Mark Dierauf <pianotech@nhpianos.com><br> To: pianotech@ptg.org<br> Sent: Thu, May 26, 2011 5:39 am<br> Subject: Re: [pianotech] Shank questions<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb"> Have you seen the Kawai high-speed videos of hammer/string contact? There's a lot going on with the hammerhead oscillating all over the place. If that oscillation is expanded into another axis I could easily imagine it having a tonal effect, which would seem unlikely to be positive. When my own piano gets  <br> a new set of hammers I may try one or two of the carbon shanks in each section to see just how much tonal difference is actually perceptible, and whether I like or dislike that difference. I like the theoretical advantages that these shanks offer - uniformity of stiffness, impervious-ness  to humidity, and customizable knuckle position - but honestly what matters most is whether or not they make the piano <i>sound </i>better. So far that is not at all obvious to me from the few examples I've heard. Keeping my fingers crossed, though!<br> <br> - Mark<br> <br> On 2:59 PM, Encore Pianos wrote: <blockquote type="cite"> <style>#AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb td{color: black;} @font-face {font-family:Calibri; panose-1:2 15 5 2 2 2 4 3 2 4;} @font-face {font-family:Tahoma; panose-1:2 11 6 4 3 5 4 4 2 4;} @font-face {font-family:Consolas; panose-1:2 11 6 9 2 2 4 3 2 4;} @font-face {font-family:Georgia; panose-1:2 4 5 2 5 4 5 2 3 3;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb p.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb li.MsoNormal,#AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb div.MsoNormal {margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:12.0pt; font-family:"Times New Roman","serif";} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb a:link,#AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb span.MsoHyperlink {mso-style-priority:99; color:blue; text-decoration:underline;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb a:visited,#AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb span.MsoHyperlinkFollowed {mso-style-priority:99; color:purple; text-decoration:underline;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb pre {mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"HTML Preformatted Char"; margin:0in; margin-bottom:.0001pt; font-size:10.0pt; font-family:"Courier New";} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb tt {mso-style-priority:99; font-family:"Courier New";} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb span.HTMLPreformattedChar {mso-style-name:"HTML Preformatted Char"; mso-style-priority:99; mso-style-link:"HTML Preformatted"; font-family:"Consolas","serif";} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb span.apple-style-span {mso-style-name:apple-style-span;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb span.EmailStyle21 {mso-style-type:personal-reply; color:black;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb .MsoChpDefault {mso-style-type:export-only; font-family:"Calibri","sans-serif";} @page WordSection1 {size:8.5in 11.0in; margin:1.0in 1.0in 1.0in 1.0in;} #AOLMsgPart_0_9852898e-674f-42e9-9c00-350b9fd0cebb div.WordSection1 {page:WordSection1;} </style> <div class="WordSection1"> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">My experience with the WNG shanks is as Mark describes, and do seem to twist more than wooden shanks.  How important is this  in relation to a hammer striking a string?  Not sure that it  is meaningful.  </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"> </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;">Will Truitt</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><span style="color: black;"> </span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"><b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: ">From:</span></b><span style="font-size: 10pt; font-family: "> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a> [<a class="moz-txt-link-freetext" href="mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org">mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org</a>] <b>On Behalf Of </b>Ed Foote<br> <b>Sent:</b> Wednesday, May 25, 2011 6:35 PM<br> <b>To:</b> <a class="moz-txt-link-abbreviated" href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a><br> <b>Subject:</b> Re: [pianotech] Shank questions</span></div> <div class="MsoNormal"> </div> <div> <div id="AOLMsgPart_0_db2e26df-c5ef-4012-8608-60a51aac68d4"> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;">At 15:44 -0400 25/05/2011, Mark Dierauf wrote:</span></tt></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;"> </span></tt></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;">>Interestingly, although the WNG shanks are stiffer than your average </span></tt></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;">>wooden shank, they seem to be noticeably more prone to twisting.</span></tt></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;"> </span></tt></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><tt><span style="color: black;"> </span></tt><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: ">Hmm,  this is the first time I have heard of this, and the several WNG shanks I have seen with hammers on them </span></span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"></span></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: "> didn't' seem to twist nearly as much  as wooden ones did.  What anecdotes do others have? </span></span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"></span></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: ">Regards, </span></span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"></span></pre> <pre style="background: none repeat scroll 0% 0% white;"><span class="apple-style-span"><span style="font-size: 12pt; font-family: ">Ed Foote rpt</span></span><span style="font-size: 9pt; color: black;"></span></pre> </div> </div> </div> </blockquote> <br> </div>  </div> </font></font>