Ronsen hammers: was Chickering rebuild -- touchweight.

[David Love]

Paul:

I've gone to 3:1 lacquer on Steinway hammers for the reasons you describe--I 
always needed two passes with 4:1.  (of course, it depends on the lacquer 
you use and the solids content.  I am currently using Maclac clear gloss 
high solids lacquer diluted with acetone).  The sets tend to be week 
starting around f, f#, g in the 5th octave and I usually thouroughly 
saturate the hammers from there up.  Two or even three applications in this 
area is not unusual.  Often the top of the piano will need an additional 
application.  Going down in the tenor I have started to apply the lacquer 
from the side so that I can get it under the strike point (I find that 
unless the lacquer gets under the strike point it is relatively 
useless--shoulder applications that stay out on the shoulders make no 
difference).  I apply the lacquer from both sides and keep it 1-2mm away 
from the strike point with the gap getting larger as I go toward the 
tenor/bass break.  (I spent some time experimenting with the side 
application to get a feel for the amount needed for the proper penetration.  
I would make an application from both sides, wait a minute or two and then 
cut the hammer open to see if it penetrated all the way to the center.)  
Going down in the bass I keep the lacquer away from the strike point in the 
upper bass but let it creep closer in the lower bass, especially the 
monochords.  I find that going in through the side allows me to get the 
lacquer where I want it without it leeching to the crown where I often don't 
want it.  If I have a concert piano and want to get a little more bite, I 
will put a thin line across the crown (you need a small applicator for 
that).  If I then have notes that are too loud on a hard blow in the tenor 
or bass, I insert a needle straight down into the strike point going fairly 
deep.  I try to listen to each string and address them individually if there 
is a noticable difference.  I am more cautious bringing down loud notes in 
the treble, testing each string of each trichord, being careful not to kill 
the note.  I always file off the bass side corner of the hammer to avoid 
pinging with the shift pedal and refine at different levels with shallow 
needling in the crown.

David Love

>From: Yardarm103669107@AOL.COM
>Reply-To: pianotech@ptg.org
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Re: Ronsen hammers: was Chickering rebuild -- touchweight.
>Date: Wed, 31 Jan 2001 11:03:28 EST
>
>David:
>Ditto. I have always used SW hammers on SW, and after shaping, working on 
>the
>shoulders of all of the hammers with lacquer. But the first shaping makes a
>huge difference before any chemicals. The quality of tone generation I get
>with that shaping pretty much tells me how much and where to concentrate my
>efforts. With SW, I have found that I need at least two passes with 4:1 to
>get close to where I want to be. From there it's spot application, 
>sometimes
>groups; then evening everything out. I always go back over the hammer tops
>with very fine paper to get rid of the felt raised by the lacquer
>application. Also, for attack, I apply a couple of drops of acetone 
>(actually
>the solution from Pianotek works just fine) directly on the strike point,
>then shallow needle for evenness. Thanks for your responses.
>Paul

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