New Steinway Shanks & Hammers

Posted on July 16, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

New shanks & hammers for a 1980 Steinway B model grand meant first sorting them via the tap test. This uses similar skills to selecting each plank of  tone wood for the soundboard, by tapping each shank against a finger knuckle and thus grading the tone of each one from low to high in respect of its position in each section (bass, tenor, middle, treble, high treble, etc) of the piano.

Once the shanks are in place, initial travelling precedes the glueing on of each hammer (having kept some guide hammers!):

And then adding more……..

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Another Strike

Posted on July 10, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Talking of strike lines (talking of the wolf, as they say in France), here are 2 more Steinway strike lines – adjusted from the dead straight to the alive curved – simply for the sake of sound…

This one is on a 1980 model B (with new shanks, too)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

And this one is on a 1894 proto-A model:

(the piece of card is to offer a straight line comparison –  so you see that the curve is subtle but significant….)

 

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Steinway Hammer Strike Position

Posted on May 31, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Once everything – regulating, tuning, voicing – is done, then the hammer strike position can be checked and, if necessary, moved.

Just as plucking the strings on a guitar in various positions along their length produces a varying tone (close to the bridge = “harsh”; close to the fretboard = “soft”),  the position the strings are struck along a piano strings’ length gives a more or less optimal tone. The strike on this Steinway D was leaving the critical treble area sounding a bit wooden and inelastic (lots of hammer noise relative to ringing string) (describing sound in words is, basically, not worth attempting, I know, but I do like to go for the impossible!).

So, some ruthless snapping off of hammers ensued.

Ready……

SNAP!

Then it’s just a case of snapping off hammers over the whole area that needs correcting, cleaning the shanks, reaming the shank holes – then running tests to find the right strike point…….

And lastly re-fitting the remaining hammers in between the test hammers to give as straight a line as possible (though if a curved hammer line is what’s required to get the right sound, a curved hammer line it will be!)…

Then all that remains to do is the usual burning & travelling of hammers, alignment to unisons, filing to string height……and fine voicing.

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Steinway String Spacing

Posted on May 14, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

In the Capo Tasto sections, strings must be aligned with their corresponding hammers. As long as the Capo Tasto has been correctly shaped and smoothened before re-stringing, the strings (even under tension) can easily be tapped left/right with a suitable tool (one that doesn’t damage the wire):

The result is hopefully a set of evenly spaced hammers (see a later blog: hammer spacing, travelling & burning) and respective string unisons:

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Steinway String Levelling

Posted on May 14, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Once re-strung, the adjustments begin: Levelling the unisons is vital for hammer strike and damper seating. Using a stringing hook, each string is lifted enough to correct the residual string wire curvature, releasing the pressure towards its agraffe.

A metal block of some kind (here I’m using the brass capstan from a lyre rod) suffices as a levelling guide:

As you might expect, this adjustment is not permanent, but does become increasingly accurate and stable when repeated over the first 2 years of a string’s life.

(Piano wire seems to continue stretching – ever more slowly, of course – for about 2 years. After this time, it becomes amazingly stable – but then also begins its slow deterioration, with gradual loss of tonal colour. This decline lasts maybe 10-30 years, depending on how much/hard the strings are played and how the piano is stored.)

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Steinway Capo Tasto

Posted on May 9, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

The Capo Tasto (plate pressure bar) is central to Steinway’s bright, open treble.

When re-stringing, it’s thus essential to re-dress the actual pressure points along the Capo Tasto.

This close-up pic shows (not very well reflected in the small mirror) the re-dressed cast-iron pressure bar:

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Fazioli Hammer Re-profile

Posted on April 29, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Time to re-shape the hammers on this Fazioli 228. Also, the client needed a brighter, richer sound – so re-profiling the heads exposes a deeper, harder layer of felt, as well as creating an appropriately narrow and thus accurate striking point.

Once the re-shaping is done, each head must be fitted to each unison (its corresponding 1,2 or 3 strings), and then evening out of the sound from note to note can begin.

The result: a much brighter, more dynamic instrument, which hopefully appeals to a broader range of pianists and musics.

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Boesendorfer Damper Re-fit

Posted on April 19, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Re-fitting the dampers on this Boesendorfer…

See the perfect and shiny new strings!

Also, spot the cranking block and half-blow transfer block – both tools from my days at Steinway Hamburg.

I still have the same damper felt trimming scissors, too!

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Boesendorfer – New Bass Strings

Posted on April 19, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Just loosening off the old bass strings. See the 2 to the left – they look new when turned over, but sound old: It is time to renew them.

I use strings made by John Delacour. John always calculates the tensions well, whatever make of piano, and provides a quick turn-around service.

See these new strings fitted in my next blog.

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Boesendorfer Re-stringing

Posted on April 11, 2012 by benfairlightedwards

Re-stringing a piano in situ is always a bit awkward…

…but there’s plenty of room to set up all the tools  for this one.

If the soundboard or bridge don’t need repairing, I always re-string in sections (or, in this case, half-sections) – because removing all the strings at once removes all tension from the strung back (of course).

Totally off-loading all tension from the strung back has a big – and usually bad – effect on the resonant integrity of the strung back: somehow the elasticity and vigour of the resultant sound (and soundboard) is lost – the piano’s tone is aged in one fell!

Doing it in sections is a slower and more awkward operation, but this way is the only one I’ve found to actually re-vitalise the sound.

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