Posted by Art H on May 09, 2002 at 23:02:57:
In Reply to: Re: Re: Re: Re: Short action posted by Chuck(G) on May 09, 2002 at 21:41:38:
Even if they weren't offset most people would not press them straight down without any sideways force. So there is always going to be some tendancy for uneven wearing of the piston. But keeping it clean and lubricated prevents the wear from being a serious problem. Because the pistons are bigger, the wear is distributed over a wider area; that also makes it less of a problem. Finally, modern pistons are made of much more durable alloys than they were a hundred years ago. I remember when short-action pistons were fairly new there was a lot of grousing from old-timers about what an awful invention they were, but now I think they have stood the test of time. I wish somebody would mass-produce a good short-action front-action four-piston valve set that could be adapted to both BBb and CC instruments.