Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum Sorting hammer shanks by tone

A heavy hammer (bass or tenor) needs a stiffer shank to cut down on the chaotic bending and oscillation on a heavy blow. The lighter treble hammers with much less mass and inertia will travel in a much more straight and true path. Their hammer shanks can be reduced in dimension, stiffness and mass without sacrificing "control". I don't think the thinning of the shanks will contribute very much to lowering the strike weight, but perhaps it is enough to make a difference.

Originally Posted By: rysowers
.. the question remains - what is the purpose of the tapering the sides of the shanks in the high treble?

I think it plays a role in rebound off the strings also and possibly helps the hammer felt clear the strings faster. When you get up in the 3-4K hz range for a fundamental, fast rebound is crucial to prevent dampening of the tone. Part of it may have to do with less mass to rebound, the other part of it might have to do with how the flex may contribute to the rebound energy if it coincides with the timing of the felts rebound properties..

Or it could be to provide a little more flex in the shank so that the difference between the top notes and the bass is not so great. In any case, not all manufacturers do it. Steinway NY does not, but Steinway Hamburg does.

The set of NY shanks that I just ordered are thinned in the top octave. Probably another example of the effort to have greater consistency between the two factories.

Emmery,

Wouldn't the string rebound off the string more slowly with a thinned shank due to the greater flexibility?

Which ones did you order? Only the current design shanks are made in New York. All the rest come from Renner.

I suppose it could under certain conditions, the independant flexing of the shank could work for, or against, supporting the rebound speed of the hammer. I read an article that goes into detail on this back a while ago and it also mentions that there is a scuffing action on the string also with more hammer shank flex. The flexibility allows the hammer to rotate while in contact with the string.

http://uwspace.uwaterloo.ca/bitstream/10012/3110/1/Master%27s%20thesis_Adel%20Izadbakhsh.pdf

I made my assumption that the added flexibility of a lighter/thinner shank in the treble is somehow helpful as an end result, since many finer pianos are done this way. It does make me wonder how this subtle difference is achieved with cookie cutter carbon fiber parts that are extremely stiff in comparison?

item # 006617 hammershank w/flange - NY Improved - set

Why did the piano trade in the pre war days continue to use cedar shanks for many top pianos?

The cedar was chosen for it's elasticity.

Perhaps there's more to it than avoiding chaotic behaviour?

Also, when the hammer hits the string, a shock wave is sent down the shank to the centre pin and perhaps part of that shock wave will return to the hammer

How would a light and flexible shank compare to a stiffer and heavier one in this last regard?

Gracious!! This sure sounds like a closed, pre-judged mind. . .

Have you actually gone to the WN&G website and at least informed yourself of what their specs and claims are? The information is available for all. As they explain, WN&G's approach to the issue is to use shanks of varying wall diameter for different parts of the scale. The advantage is that the note-to-note consistency is there which wood cannot achieve.

And anyway, how are WN&G shanks more "cookie cutter" than anyone else's? Everyone is attempting for manufacturing consistency -- and the folk machining wooden components certainly can't be faulted for trying. The limitation is not their machining processes but the material they are working with.

I am glad to hear of any difficulties or problems that people using these new components may have encountered -- and there have been some issues. But it would seem more helpful to focus on real problems -- if and when they crop up-- rather than to just take pot shots.

My 2 cents . . .

I did on a Steynway (1980 , mod A, N.Y. new soundboard, nice piano)

Thinned many of the shanks so none is sounding higher than the next.

I cannot say if the tone is a "proof" of the elasticity, but it gave a clear audible better evening of the tone.

It is rare that defects are not noticed before, and their absence is... so I would say it is more important than considered.

The shanks where all thinned, so it was easier to scrap them (between 32 and 128 times all along under the shank, a little on the edges too... the larger shanks are less easy to even (more scraping)

It is easy to listen. some shanks had a minor third difference with their neighbours . I am not under the impression that the most thinned shanks where providing less dynamic, on the contrary.

The ppp nuance is really even and neat.