I accept all of those things as fact. However, before implementation of the design, there had to be discussion about the fact that "at some point this 'thing' is going to need adjustment in order to work correctly". Then somebody had to make the decision as to whether to add adjustability or not.
IOW there are usually upsides and downsides to any mechanical design. For instance Bechstein's rocker arm direct pinning of the key to the whippen. Arguably the best design from a performance standpoint...but what a nightmare anytime you need to remove the stack! Upside/downside.
So, the fact that S...way ultimately changed to an adjustable jack argues that something changed in their thinking, OR decision-making changed to someone else who favored correct geometry over the other factors, OR competitors pointed to it as a short-sighted defect and so the pressure of the marketplace brought it about, or of course "something completely different".
Who knows? All I know is that these decisions ALWAYS have a reason behind them.
Pwg
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Peter Grey
Stratham NH
603-686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 02-06-2019 16:25
From: Jurgen Goering
Subject: Steinway wippen - no jack button
Correct - less mass on the jack = less inertia, and faster response...
But there are other interesting effects of the fairly thick and soft rest bolster:
first off, you will never hear noisy jack return on these 100+year old actions. (Compare that to almost any modern piano)
second: in a hard blow, the jack is presses into, and to a degree compresses the bolster, reducing the likelihood of "cheating".
Someone with a mechanical engineer's mind such as John Rhodes could surely add substantive comments on this.
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Jurgen Goering
Original Message:
Sent: 01-30-2019 07:41
From: Mark Dierauf
Subject: Steinway wippen - no jack button
I've heard that the lack of extra weight halfway out the jack's lever arm lowered inertia and made them quicker, improving repetition (likely difficult to prove) There might also be a difference in the sound (or feel) as the jack snaps back to rest.
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Mark Dierauf
Concord NH
603-225-4652
Original Message:
Sent: 01-29-2019 06:49
From: Peter Grey
Subject: Steinway wippen - no jack button
From a historical perspective this is another piece of evidence that the manufacturing design/intent of this (for optimum performance) was to last about 25-30 years (40 absolute max) at which point (from the manufacturers perspective) the instrument would either come back to the factory for refurbishment, or be replaced with a new one. This would also correspond with the performance longevity of the belly system. (True, it will continue to exist and "operate", but not at its optimum level as degradation is impossible to prevent).
Could they have installed buttons and spoons? Of course...they already had a button on the other end of the rep lever and they had uprights with spoons. But somebody made the decision to make it essentially non-adjustable. There was a reason.
Pwg
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Peter Grey
Stratham NH
603-686-2395
pianodoctor57@gmail.com
Original Message:
Sent: 01-27-2019 19:26
From: David Love
Subject: Steinway wippen - no jack button
You can't on the old wippens without shimming them and it's a pain in the ass and not particularly practical. It's a problem if you changed the shanks with a new knuckle position and didn't change the wippens along with it. If you did that I'd suggest installing a new set of wippens.
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David Love RPT
www.davidlovepianos.com
davidlovepianos@comcast.net
415 407 8320
Original Message:
Sent: 01-26-2019 22:29
From: Laura Wright
Subject: Steinway wippen - no jack button
Hello all, I'm preparing to regulate a 1905 Steinway A, and have encountered a wippen configuration I haven't seen before. There is no button on the jack, instead there is a piece of soft felt in the rear of the window that the jack rests against. How do I regulate jack/knuckle alignment? Would I have to adjust the thickness of this felt pad, possibly replacing with thicker or thinner? That seems very time consuming. Am I missing something? Thanks!
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Laura Wright, RPT
Ivory Keys Piano Service
Durango CO
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