I noticed on a new piano the other day that the holes for the weights in the bass were almost identically placed, while on some keys the weights were significantly more recessed into the holes than others. The diameter of the holes was the same.

My question is, are the weights themselves being reduced in thickness and is this a practiced technique in key weighting? The idea being that a company may drill holes and ask questions latter as to how much of each lead, in the given hole size, to install. Please correct if wrong, but I thought that weighting was generally done by selecting 1/2, 3/8, 7/16, etc, sized weights and positioning them someplace along the key length without actually adjusting the thickness of the weight.

Thoughts? Thanks,
Chris W

Chris,sometimes when weighing off a keyboard you may need to take a lead and trim it to achieve a target touch weight,hence the the larger recess.If you see the same pattern in the keys,you're witnessing patterned or engineered weighting.What make of piano was this?

It was a new S&S 'B'. I guess there are a number of ways to trim a soft material like lead, but can't imagine what would be best. Hack saw? Mill file?

Cleave with a hammer and cheap chisel.