Pianotech

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

I don't think i would go with the Birch, especially to reduce the dowels from home depot because they are not usually the tight grain or quality you need. With a dowel maker you can easily reduce upright maple shanks to the correct diameter. I personally prefer hickory for square piano shanks. Very stable at that diameter with 3 or more grains running straight through. Also, it was used a lot in the past, so it having a precedent is comforting. Also at that diameter there really is no weight concern either.

-chris

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Thanks, Chris!

I don't think i would go with the Birch, especially to reduce the dowels from home depot because they are not usually the tight grain or quality you need. With a dowel maker you can easily reduce upright maple shanks to the correct diameter. I personally prefer hickory for square piano shanks. Very stable at that diameter with 3 or more grains running straight through. Also, it was used a lot in the past, so it having a precedent is comforting. Also at that diameter there really is no weight concern either.

-chris

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

The problem you are going to have if you decided to go the cedar route is that Chickering had very tight grain cedar. Count the grain of those cedar shanks, probably about 7 grains in a shank. You will be hard pressed to find some today without great effort. The choice of cedar has somewhat baffled me, but when it was new it was most likely not only light but strong too. Its just overtime it got dried out and weak. 

Good luck!

-chris

Thanks, Chris!

I don't think i would go with the Birch, especially to reduce the dowels from home depot because they are not usually the tight grain or quality you need. With a dowel maker you can easily reduce upright maple shanks to the correct diameter. I personally prefer hickory for square piano shanks. Very stable at that diameter with 3 or more grains running straight through. Also, it was used a lot in the past, so it having a precedent is comforting. Also at that diameter there really is no weight concern either.

-chris

Thanks, Douglas. Would you mind elaborating on why modification is no good?

Also, any thoughts on substituting birch?

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Douglas,

Out of curiosity, how would you have responded to Robert Brekne in 2000? Birch shanks seem to have been preferred in his part of the world.

Has anyone on this thread experimented with birch shanks? I didn't think about the difference in grain count. I think I'll order some and do some testing.

Interesting topic and thanks for everyone's input. I've got some thinking to do.

jp

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Douglas,

Out of curiosity, how would you have responded to Robert Brekne in 2000? Birch shanks seem to have been preferred in his part of the world.

Has anyone on this thread experimented with birch shanks? I didn't think about the difference in grain count. I think I'll order some and do some testing.

Interesting topic and thanks for everyone's input. I've got some thinking to do.

jp

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Thanks for the find, Arnold!

Unfortunately, the article neither gives taxonomic names for the birch it's refering to, nor the Modulus of Elasticity of the birch mentioned. Only that it is white birch (I believe Betula pubescens) grown in Finland, making it much stronger. Normally European White Birch is not much better than cedar, but it seems to be much harder grown in Finland. I can find no data as to it's MoE or any other measure of hardness.

Until that can be tested or found, I think I may have to resort to making my down dowels from larger Hard Maple dowels or upright shanks.

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Arnold,

Thank you for posting that article. While the math was over my head, what stood out to me was the importance of straight grain for birch hammer shanks.

It was mentioned in this thread that Chickering used shanks with 11 grains? I'm thankful for that history. Does anyone know what species of shanks piano manufactures used on square pianos over 100 years ago? I've never thought about that.

Out of curiosity, tonight I sliced through two shanks in my shop:

1. 7/32" maple shanks I purchased from Pianotek several years ago. It had three very crooked grains running through it.
2. 3/16" spinet shanks the late Roger Harwood purchased either from Schaff or Pianotek over 10 years ago. It had at least 5 grains, and they were fairly straight. Interesting find.

My ears are not sophisticated enough to evaluate shank frequencies as I drop them on glass for evaluation like in the article. What I can do, however, is a flex-until-they-break test on modern maple 7/32 and 3/16 shanks compared to 3/16" birch shanks. I will let you know what I find out.

Meanwhile, I'm reminded of a larger picture here. What would you all do if you had a square grand shank break tomorrow that needs replacing? The shank is 3/16". Standard shanks from Schaff are not long enough for this square piano. What do you do for a shank? Do you assume the original shank is maple? If so, where can you buy them in 3/16" diameter long enough? Do you go to the extra expense of purchasing shank-reducing equipment for fewer than a dozen replacements? Do you insist on using hard-to-find maple 3/16" shanks when the customer only wants the piano to play well enough for their grandchildren to play on? Do you demand to use maple because of potentially superior acoustic qualities of the wood? Is acoustic quality a metric worth considering when determining the species of wood to use for a shank in this case? Are strength and acoustic resonance of the shank metrics you should consider in this situation? How far should a technician go to pursue service excellence?

I ask these questions because I have spent the past 20 years struggling with these kinds of questions. I've always been insanely inclined toward craft, even at the expense of profit. Craft has never failed me, but at the same time it haunts me.

In this situation, I'm historically stumped. What species of shank should a technician use, and what is the balance between expense and honoring the historical nature of the work ? Should a technician always duplicate factory decisions to preserve a historical intent, or is there an equally technically sound opinion to discover?

My default response is to ask even more questions and go to my workshop to look for answers.

Good discussion,

John Parham 

Thanks for the find, Arnold!

Unfortunately, the article neither gives taxonomic names for the birch it's refering to, nor the Modulus of Elasticity of the birch mentioned. Only that it is white birch (I believe Betula pubescens) grown in Finland, making it much stronger. Normally European White Birch is not much better than cedar, but it seems to be much harder grown in Finland. I can find no data as to it's MoE or any other measure of hardness.

Until that can be tested or found, I think I may have to resort to making my down dowels from larger Hard Maple dowels or upright shanks.

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

Original Message:
Sent: 8/23/2023 1:56:00 PM
From: Arnold Duin
Subject: RE: Square Grand Shanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

------------------------------
Arnold Duin
Krommenie NH
31-75-6211529

Original Message:
Sent: 08-21-2023 16:53
From: Joshua Dellinger
Subject: Square Grand Shanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

------------------------------
Joshua Dellinger
Catawba Valley Piano Services
Maiden, NC
(828) 705-1732
cvpianoservices@gmail.com
------------------------------

Thanks, Arnold!

I found the page for Abel's full list of upright shanks, and their 5mm shank. It seems their 5.4mm and up shanks are birch, and 5mm and lower are maple. All are 130mm, or 5.11", in length, more than the ~4.75" I need.

The next question, perhaps, is whether the .22mm descrepency between 5mm and 4.78mm (3/16") is enough that the fit would be too tight. Perhaps just use a shank reducer? Douglas, I noticed you said you kept 4mm cedar shanks. Is 4mm better?

Also, Douglas, as this is a piano that was left unplayed for 2 years after they bought it (I was actually a little surprised they agreed to this repair), is getting cedar shanks worth it? Perhaps they're better for a more serious project, like a rebuilding? I care greatly about an ethical repair, but I'm not sure my clients care about an authentic one.

------------------------------
Joshua Dellinger
Catawba Valley Piano Services
Maiden, NC
(828) 705-1732
cvpianoservices@gmail.com

Original Message:
Sent: 08-25-2023 12:23
From: Arnold Duin
Subject: Square Grand Shanks

Abel offers 3 sizes 3.5 mm, 4 mm and 5 mm X 130 mm in Ahorn.

Regards
Arnold


Original Message:
Sent: 8/25/2023 11:33:00 AM
From: John Parham
Subject: RE: Square Grand Shanks

Thanks, Melanie. That's the standard length that is too short for Joshua's project.

I appreciate you checking in,
John Parham


Original Message:
Sent: 8/25/2023 11:15:00 AM
From: Melanie Brooks
Subject: RE: Square Grand Shanks

Original Message:
Sent: 8/23/2023 1:56:00 PM
From: Arnold Duin
Subject: RE: Square Grand Shanks

Just found the article in Europiano that Richard Brekne referred to at the time and added a scan of it. Hopefully it is readable

------------------------------
Arnold Duin
Krommenie NH
31-75-6211529

Original Message:
Sent: 08-21-2023 16:53
From: Joshua Dellinger
Subject: Square Grand Shanks

Hi, folks. So, I'm currently replacing all the original cedar(I think?) shanks on an old Chickering square grand. As some of you know, this basically means finding a spinet shank that's little longer than spinet shanks normally come.

I saw on other forum posts that Schaff sold an item called "Pallet Rods" (No. 706) that were essentially spinet shanks but a bit over 5". I just called and, as I'd feared, those are discontinued.

I've also had trouble finding 3/16" dowels/rods that are hard maple. I keep finding birch, instead.

Another tech suggested basically splicing spinet shanks to get the required length. I've held onto that suggestion, but have felt a little squeamish about splicing a shank vs having a singe piece of wood.

Any suggestions in a remedy?

Would birch be sufficient? 

Am I just being too squeamish about the splicing idea?

Is there a source I'm not finding of 3/16" hard maple dowels?

Answers are appreciated. Thanks

------------------------------
Joshua Dellinger
Catawba Valley Piano Services
Maiden, NC
(828) 705-1732
cvpianoservices@gmail.com
------------------------------