<html> Hi Wally.                Most of theire parts are made from the denser European Hornbeam.  It's a superior material in many ways, and machines much nicer.  That's why you have that nice silky feel on the German parts.  The increase in mass how ever, has to be considered. Renner Flange cloth is graphited, and can be a seasonal problem in some areas. ( Due to it's Hygroscopic nature) Yes, I have had to repin a few flanges on Tokiwa shanks. Not enough to be a concern.  But no were near as bad as North American product.  I have never had a set that required a lot of repinning, as you have stated Travel issues seam about the same on all 3 suppliers. Regards Roger At 06:52 AM 4/8/01 -0400, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>Roger - A couple questions on your remarks here.  Are Renner & Abel parts not maple?  If not, what are they? I don't use Tokiwas any more because I find the quality lacking in comparison.  A new set requires much more repinning than Renner or Abel.  I always expect to have to do a few, but not most of the set.  Apparently that hasn't been your experience . . . . Wally Wilson, RPT Ravenswood, WV Columbus, OH Chapter At 01:24 AM 4/8/01 -0500, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>Hi Dale,             I've found the Tokiwa parts to be every bit as good as Renner and Abel.  The wippens are 1gm lighter than Renner, and are maple.  A definite advantage where touch weight is a concern. Like you I have a complete set of Renner, Abel, Tokiwa, and North American Parts.  It takes all the guess work out of ordering, when you do mock up prior to starting. I like to do DW/UW/friction measurements with the old parts, then install each part,  measure and compare to see cause and effect.  I then order the parts. This I do, after rebushing, fully servicing, and fitting the keybed for correct bushing clearance etc. As this can skew results, and it further reduces the risk of error. Maybe this will be helpful to some. Regards Roger PS.  Some of Wally's parts are Tokiwa. At 05:49 PM 4/7/01 -0700, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite cite>  Wim     I've done this twice and I believe that the parts I used to match the old ones came from pacific(the tokiwa parts).  As much as I've heard these parts denigrated by some I have found the complaints unfounded. In fact they are  very well made parts and  I don't hesitate to use them when needed.  I suspect that Renner and Brooks(Abel) have parts that would fit as well and I'm sure that the new line of Tokiwa knabe and chickering wippens will be a welcome asset to our parts replacement endeavors and possibly yours. To my knowledge no other maker provides these style wippens       Typically when I replace action parts I have a complete set(almost) of sample parts from most parts makers that I simply match the best part for a   particular application.  Myyyyy, isn't life Grand to have so many choices these days.  Persevere Wim a solution is out there.    Finding appropriate parts isn't difficult like it used to be in yrs past.  I'll you have to do is order them.  Each part maker I know either has demo kits or a full size picture of their parts.      One last word of caution.  The chickering piano used very light hammers and matching them is difficult. Beside a 6ft. 4" chickering  would benefit tonally from more hammer weight(strike wt.) which means a shank with a different knuckle spread might be a better choice to help carry the extra gram or so.   Best     Dale Erwin ----- Original Message ----- From: <a href="mailto:Wimblees@AOL.COM">Wimblees@AOL.COM</a> To: <a href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</a> Sent: Saturday, April 07, 2001 3:19 PM Subject: Re: Chickering brass flanges In a message dated 4/7/01 3:07:22 PM Central Daylight Time, <a href="mailto:JIMRPT@AOL.COM">JIMRPT@AOL.COM</a> writes: <blockquote type=cite cite>NO!! :-) Definitely not if it is going to be in a recording studio. I would think that a change of flanges would be the safest route in this instance. I don't think that one of these thingees, with brass flanges, would have been suitable for a recording studio even when they were brand new. </blockquote> OK, so if bar-b-queing the flanges is not recommended, then I need to go on to the next step, which is replacing the brass flanges with wooden ones. I am more than happy to do this. But, and this is where I was hoping some of you could help, what size do I get? Has anyone had any experience replacing brass with wood flanges, both the hammer and wippens. Wim </blockquote> </blockquote> </blockquote> </html>