Hammer bouncing on hammer rest rail

[hdpsr7]

I just bought a 1940 Chickering baby grand.  It was tuned upon delivery, played very nicely with beautiful sound. I notice the hammers bounce off the hammer rest rail and make a little thud noise when the note is played. The noise is not loud but loud enough to hear if I listen for it. The hammer rest rail has cushion.  Is this hammer bouncing off the normal for the old piano or any piano? What does it need to keep hammers from bouncing and make noise? Many thanks in advance.

[pianorebuilder]

I just bought a 1940 Chickering baby grand.  It was tuned upon delivery, played very nicely with beautiful sound. I notice the hammers bounce off the hammer rest rail and make a little thud noise when the note is played. The noise is not loud but loud enough to hear if I listen for it. The hammer rest rail has cushion.  Is this hammer bouncing off the normal for the old piano or any piano? What does it need to keep hammers from bouncing and make noise? Many thanks in advance.

      The Hammers should not "rest" on the Hammer rest rail.  Typically, when the hammer is in the correct at rest position, there should be a shanks width between the felt and the bottom of the hammershank (a little more than 1/8").  In good regulation, the shanks should not even touch the rest rail. 
      If the shank is in the correct position at rest, the hammer rail must be lowered in order for it to be out the way.  More than likely, the hammer rest position must be raised (via the capstans), to be in proper regulation.  If the problem persists, simply replace the old rest felt with new and the noise will be lessened.   Many older pianos, like Chickerings, must be compromised in order to work properly.

[hdpsr7]

Thanks pianobuilder. Is shank the wooden rod holding the hammer? If so, I see all these wooden rods resting on the hammer rest rail cushion when not played. I'll check with the piano tech the next time I have a tuning. Just curious, if the shanks are not supposed to touch the hammer rest rail when at rest, then why have the hammer rest rail? Is it (the rest rail) designed just to absorb/prevent the hammer to travel too far?  Thanks. 

[pianorebuilder]

Thanks pianobuilder. Is shank the wooden rod holding the hammer? If so, I see all these wooden rods resting on the hammer rest rail cushion when not played. I'll check with the piano tech the next time I have a tuning. Just curious, if the shanks are not supposed to touch the hammer rest rail when at rest, then why have the hammer rest rail? Is it (the rest rail) designed just to absorb/prevent the hammer to travel too far?  Thanks. 

    Yes, the "Shank" is the wooden rod that the Hammer is attached to.  There are a few reasons there is a "rest rail".  When the Stack (or top portion) of the Action is removed from the keys, the shanks will then rest on the rail (or individual pillow rests on most pianos). 
    The second is that most piano actions are rarely regulated over the years (such as seems to be the case with your instrument).  The wippens hold the Hammershanks suspended in the air, but over time, due to playing and felt compression at the bottom of the wippen, and to some extent at the Knuckle, the shanks slowly start to sink down.  If there were no rest felts, eventually the hammershank would touch some part of the wippen mechanism during play, and click wildly. 

   The capstan adjustment is a 15 minute process and should be easily taken care of by any qualified technician.  I would suggest at the minimum at least a basic action regulation in order to take care of any other incidentals that might be needed on the action.  Best of luck!

[hdpsr7]

Again many thanks pianobuilder. I'll for sure have the tech make some adjustment.

[keys60]

Ditto. Your piano has not been regulated in a while. I've bolstered the wippens and knuckles with yarn to round them out and add some lift. Works good if you don't want a full regulation.
Enjoy your Chickering. I'm a fan of many of them myself.