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Shanks & Flanges

Our shanks and flanges are “dimensionally correct” ensuring that the original action dimensions and relationships are maintained when the part is installed. Some other companies in our industry have borrowed this term to describe dimensions that are not authentic and will fundamentally change the original design. Extreme examples include moving the hammer shank knuckle to a distance of 18mm from the center pin in order to reduce action weight at the front of the key. Reducing the leverage ratio at the hammer shank will certainly result in making the key easier to press down, as piano makers have known for 300 years. Doing so, however will have detrimental consequences in other areas of the mechanism including:

• A reduced amount of available hammer blow distance with the same touch depth.
• Greater touch depth with the same hammer blow distance.
• Slower acceleration of the hammer towards the string, resulting in lower contact velocity.
• Greater hammer weight required to reach equivalent ability to displace the struck string.

One of the advantages of the action parts offered by Lloyd Meyer & Company, LLC and Renner USA is the use of a special wood called Weissbuche, or Hornbeam in English, which is naturally air-dried and aged to provide stability over many years. The use of only the finest materials and highest level of quality workmanship done by our manufacturing partners in Germany are among the many reasons our parts are preferred by the world’s finest piano makers and rebuilders.

Unique Multifaceted Taper Shank

All of our shanks and flanges feature a multifaceted shape that offers increased strength and superior energy transmission of the hammerhead.