<!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 6.00.2800.1458" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Arial; BACKGROUND-COLOR: = #ffffff" bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV>Hi Bob,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Yes, the weights are SW, and not head weight.  = Although my hammers are a bit heavy, they're not really *that* heavy.  For = the most part, they're in the 3/4 medium to top medium range.  I do = like a heavier hammer, as it seems to give me more dynamic control.  If I = had the strength to handle them, I'd probably want even heavier hammers still -- = perhaps no higher than Stanwood 10s.  In contrast, I can't stand playing pianos that have light hammers.  Heavy works -- at = least for me.  These hammers are only slightly heavier than the hammers = I already have.  As truly, truly horrible as my old hammers are, I do = like the "feel" of their weight.  Everything else in the action seems = fine, and I won't be doing any reconfigurations (e.g. moving the capstans).  = Oh, yes, the new shanks do have just a tad (.5 mm) longer a knuckle placement = (18, vs. 17.5 mm), so that will decrease the new SWR ever-so-slightly, = compensating somewhat for the ever-so-slightly higher SW.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I've already had these hammers hung and shaped.  The job = was done quite expertly!  Of course I can tweak the weight here and there = with the removal of a bit of extra molding.  I don't want to touch the = checking surfaces, though, as they're very nicely shaped.  I'll probably = remove a bit from the sides of the tails, and perhaps just a shade from the cove side.  For those hammers that need a pinch more weight, I'll = probably use a bit of lead, per some of the suggestions I've received.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>But since this will all be put off until after I see how the = hammers feel and sound, it's all quite a bit of arm waving right now.  If the = hammers are really too heavy, which I highly doubt, I can always even their = weights out towards the lower end of the jags in the SW curve.  I'll know = more, once my keyframe returns home from its little trip to the spa, and I can = put some of these pretty hammers into motion!  ;-)</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Peace,</DIV> <DIV>Sarah</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=BobDavis88@aol.com href="mailto:BobDavis88@aol.com">BobDavis88@aol.com</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A = title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, August 22, 2004 = 11:56 PM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: SW heresy?</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV> <DIV>Hello Sarah,</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I was looking over your graph. This is strike weight, right? Not = head weight? Even so, it looks like it might be unnecessarily porky for a = Steinway clone. What kind of hammers are they, and have the sides been tapered? = Head to tail, or just tails? Has any additional coving been done?</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>As others have mentioned, doing your own tapering with a table = saw jig like the Spurlock goes a long way toward evening up (and reducing) = weight. If they are 11 mm wide, they may not need to be, which you can check = against the string spacing. If they do need to be as wide as whatever they are, = you can just start the taper at that width. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>After tapering, I weigh each head before coving, and can make a = 0.1 - 0.2 gram evening-out adjustment in the weight by varying the = cove, without having it show. </DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>I think you are wise to put off final adjustments until you can = put some hammers in the piano and see what kind of weight the action wants, as = well as what kind of sound you're getting.</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV>Bob Davis</DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV> </DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>