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Hi Charles,<br>
Reduction of hammer mass can be accomplished more efficiently by removing
<b>felt</b> and wood. I have a jig that I use on a table saw that
makes a tapered cut on both sides of the hammer. By starting the cut
about 1/4" from behind the strike point the felt removal will drop
the hammer mass dramatically. the table saw approach also gives
more consistency from hammer to hammer. Removing shank mass in the upper
treble is a technique for altering tone quality as opposed to touch
correction. Reducing shank mass in the bass can lead to problems,
re shank strength vs the weight of the hammer. <br>
It is very easy to remove up to 2 grams on #1 bass hammer with
this method, which translates to 10 grams DW on the average piano. If you
are working with mahogany moldings the amount of touch weight correction
by just tapering or coving the tails is very limited. The amount of
touch weight correction from the shanks, (length X mass) is quite
limited. <br>
I reserve shank reduction for voicing corrections, it is very
usfull to get rid of the "woody thunk" that is some times
encountered, hard to describe on paper. Thinning the shank can increase
the whip lash effect of the shank, and help reduce the dwell time,
creating a clearer more focused tone quality.<br>
Some food for thought, How much felt mass vs molding in the centre
and bass section of the keyboard?<br>
Regards Roger<br>
<br>
<br>
<br>
At 10:21 PM 29/10/98 -0500, you wrote:<br>
>On Thu, 29 Oct 1998, Wimblees@AOL.COM wrote:<br>
><br>
<br>
>>Not only hammer, but you might also try to get rid of some of the
shank mass,<br>
<br>
>>if that can be done. <br>
<br>
><br>
>If people are doing this, I would very much like to know how.
What kind of<br>
>tools, jigs, whatever are you using to get professional looking
results. If<br>
>there is a journal article, a reference would be great.<br>
><br>
>TIA,<br>
><br>
>Charles Farinella<br>
>c_farinella@conknet.com<br>
> <br>
<div>Roger Jolly</div>
<div>Baldwin Yamaha Piano Centre</div>
<div>Saskatoon and Regina</div>
<div>Saskatchewan, Canada.</div>
<div>306-665-0213</div>
Fax 652-0505
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