You may remember a few posts of mine from a while back - I was trying to decide what to do about the hammers on my 1930s Rogers Grand. Heres my current status...
In the end I had complete new hammers made to pattern by Abel and hung on new shanks. I fitted these roughly myself then got a technician in to do the casting and fine alignment. They haven't been voiced but other than that they are quite acceptable. I wish now I hadn't had them hung on the shanks. He could have done that - problem is a few of the shanks had to be mounted a mil or so forward to get the right striking line. I Assume this is ok as long as the jacks are adjusted to match? can't feel a difference I must say.
The trouble is the piano is still crap to play. Very uneven (despite regulation) and sluggish now (and heavy touch). I spent ages adjusting the weights but it is still not brilliant. Some of you folks warned of that (after I'd bought the new hammers
).The centres were very bad in the old hammers so I suspect that they aren't great in the whippens/levers. Some of the jacks are right on one side, and as someone mentioned, the whole action wasn't designed for the heavier hammer felt I now have.
This all leads me to think, "why not repace the whippens for new ones?" that would mean that most of the action is brand new; the keys are all level and in very good condition, and hopefully modern whippens are likely to accomodate the weight of modern felted hammers? On this basis I found a company in the US who can supply renner whippens at a very reasonable price. With the strong pound at the moment I can get 90 for £550. I ordered one to try it out, not wanting to get my fingers burnt like I did with the hammers. It came today and I fitted it. Wow. what a difference. The treacly sluggishness has gone, the repetition is far better, the control is much improved and the touch weight is lighter (this even before I hook up the little spring on the back).
As you can imagine there are a few subtle differences between the whippens; there is however one major difference: The little short piece with the scew hole that you use to mount the whippen into the action is about 1/8" longer than the original. I found I had to put a washer between the whippen and the action when screwing it on to get it into a better position. When I replace all of them I'll be able to move the mounting rail back a little, but right now the washer is best so I don't mess up the others.
My question is this: What do I do about the change in height in the mounting piece? Should I reduce the height of the rail? I have to admit I did some reversible damage and took a small piece out of the rail carefully with a chisel to fit this one, but I don't fancy doing that another 87 times. I guess the discrepency could be taken up by regulating but I assume that the resting position/angle of the whippen is fairly important as the way it lets off will be affected otherwise.
I've taken a few pictures and put them on my website at www.jamespyke.plus.com. Your thoughts would be appreciated!
Thanks
James
I paid £1500 for new Abel hammers and shanks because that was the only way I could replace the hammers. Nothing off the shelf was anywhere close to fitting - believe me I tried. 