hammer change - shaping

[Isaac OLEG]

Hello Andre,

The instruments in the conservatory are shaped every year a little.

I've heard of a shaping method with a small wood plank and filing
paper 80 grit on it , that is supposed to be the standard method used
at Yamaha France, and that allow to "uncap" the top of the hammers
very fast (even the bass hammers). No finishing with finer grit, a
friend is supposed to show me that trick someday, did you see that
method ?
Indeed filing hammers in the piano mean being in a very uncomfortable
position, and if the marks are deep a lot of work is due after filing.
Is not it better to give the hammers new power before filing them ,
then we probably can shave less felt, as we work on a tensioned
material. then final top voicing is remaining only.

The low 9'& 3' needling we call "le fond" in France (the ground may be
in English).

Friendly greetings



Isaac OLEG

Entretien et reparation de pianos.

PianoTech
17 rue de Choisy
94400 VITRY sur SEINE
FRANCE
tel : 033 01 47 18 06 98
fax : 033 01 47 18 06 90
cell: 06 60 42 58 77

> -----Message d'origine-----
> De : pianotech-bounces@ptg.org
> [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org]De la
> part de antares@euronet.nl
> Envoye : jeudi 8 mai 2003 18:43
> A : Pianotech
> Objet : hammer change
>
>
>
> On woensdag, mei 7, 2003, at 22:54 Europe/Amsterdam, A440A@aol.com
> wrote:
>
> >  antares writes:
> >
> > << And I have a theory that we should actually not file
> hammers at all
> > or
> > at the most just one time.
> >
> > Besides, when we file hammers really thoroughly, they
> weigh less and
> > give a more shrill tone. There is less 'meat' to stick
> your needles in
> > and it won't hold as long as you would expect.
> > So what am I saying? File as little as possible, with a
> maximum of one
> > time
> > per hammer life,
> > then do a hammer change.
> > result?
> > Happy customer, happy tech. >>
> >
> > Greetings,
> >    Um, in an ideal world, yes, however, there is one
> problem with this
> > approach.  It assumes that the hammers were the optimum
> size to start
> > with!
>
> Hi,
>
> Yes I meant 'normal' hammers like the hammers on a Yamaha,
> a Steinway
> etc. I did not mean wrong replacements or phantasy hammers.
>
>
> >
> > I have seen more than a few factory installed hammers
> that were too
> > large for
> > the piano and/or the action they were on.  Steinways and
> some of the
> > '70s
> > vintage Mason and Hamlins come to mind.  I have weighed
> hammers on a
> > Steinway
> > M that were the same weight as a Steinway D, so I would
> be reluctant to
> > propose that hammer size is exactly "standard".
>
> I must tell you that I have not seen those kind hammers on
> those kind
> of instruments.
> We may assume that in any case a Hamburg Steinway has been
> treated in a
> normal fashion and thus has hammers that 'fit'.
> Yamaha instruments too are very trustworthy.
> I can not speak for American made instruments as they
> hardly exist here.
>
> Only one time do I recall a Steinway with too heavy
> hammers, but only
> one time. This was in the period that they experimented with Abel
> hammers and they were too heavy.
>
>
> > Also, it is not uncommon to
> > find a piano on which the hammers have already been
> changed, and what
> > was
> > installed were too large.
> >     I usually file the concert hammers at the school here
> once a year
> > for
> > their normal 4 year lifespan.  They do get brassy in that
> last year,
> > but that
> > is the nature of school budgets.
>
> Sure, I have 150 instruments at the Amsterdam Conservatory. All the
> hammers in the so called 'piano rooms' (where the head
> piano teachers
> work) are re-placed every three to four years.
> All the others we file and that's the main reason why I have gotten
> tired of filing and why I have hurt my back : I have filed too many
> hammers.
>
> >  I also have few customers that would be
> > happy to pay for new hammers every three or four years.......
>
> It might be possible Ed that the nature of our work is a
> bit different,
> but I am not sure of that. after all the years of mainly
> tuning I now
> tune very little and the emphasis is now on action work and voicing.
> I tune maybe 1 instrument a day. The rest is mainly in the
> work place
> and as many hammer changes I can get. So I sort of work
> towards it to
> get those hammer changes as it has become the main source
> of my income,
> inside the work place and outside.
>
> It is like a mechanic who has become a specialist on
> changing tires, so
> when a customer comes in with worn tires, he obviously will
> advise the
> client to do a 'tire change'.
>
> Besides, I am almost convinced that you too would prefer to
> install new
> hammers instead of fighting with the old ones?
>
> Antares,
> The Netherlands
>
> see my website at : www.concertpianoservice.nl
>
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