<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2600.0" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2>I'm rehammering an old Bechstein (c.1900).  The = old hammers are hung at between 93-95 degrees to compensate for short boring = due to a greater than average distance from the hammer flange centers = to the strings.  For example, in the center of the piano, the = string height would necessitate a </FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>2-1/4" bore.  In fact, in the treble and tenor = sections alone the bore distance varies by 1/4".  Because the hammers that I = would like to use (primary tonal selection, secondary weight selection), even = with extra long moldings, will not accommodate that bore distance and = still leave a 1" tail length, I am considering not quite duplicating the = obtuse angles present in the existing action to get the hammers at 90 degrees = to the strings, but rather uniformly short boring everything so that the obtuse = angle will be consistent from section to section and the shanks' rise above = parallel to the strings will also be uniform.   Is there any = compelling reason to avoid this arrangement?  What is the maximum angle or = maximum rise of the shank beyond parallel that you would consider before = problems might arise?  And what sort of problems might those = be?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2>David Love</FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>