Hammer steaming

[PNOTNR@aol.com]

William,

It's a fairly straight forward operation.  Using an electric kettle (I've
always thought they were called hot pots...used to have a small one for tea
and coffee back in college), you get the water boiling rapidly, then with the
action out and resting on your lap, you insert and remove the hammer head
into the spout (which should be about the size of a hammer head).  The
hammers never stops.  It is literally in and out.  You'll be surprised at how
much change you get for so little time.

David Stanwood describes the wool fibers as armor plated rubber bands.  Heat
and moisture causes the armor plates to flair out.  This is what happens if
you dry a wool sweater in a dryer.   In David's class in White River Jct.,
VT, he had some electron microscope photos that showed differences between
differently prepared hammers.  You could clearly see the change in felt
density as you moved deeper into the hammer.  And the picture of the hot
pressed hammer looked like a solid mass of felt.  This type of hammer would
have a tremendous response to the steaming procedure.

I purchased my electric kettle at Wal-Mart.  (So shoot me already!)
It cost about $19.00 and could be used to make soup if the stove quits.

Gordon Large
Mt. Vernon, ME