Wurzen felt

[Delwin D Fandrich]

----- Original Message -----
From: "David C. Stanwood" <stanwood@tiac.net>
To: <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: May 12, 2003 7:41 PM
Subject: Re: Wurzen felt


> >
> >
> >The "monster hammers" of times past were monsters in physical size only.
> >They were not monsters in terms of mass or density. The high-density and
> >high-mass hammer is a much more recent phenomena brought on by the
> >perceived needs of mass production.
> >
> >Del
> >
>
> Hi Del,
>
> This quote from Dolge in "Pianos and their Makers" is not about physical
> size only.  It's about weight:
>
> "As far back as 1873 the author made, in the factories at Dolgeville,
N.Y.,
> for Steinway & Sons, hammer felt one and three fourth inches in thick in
> bass and weighing 22 pounds to a sheet, which measured 36 inches wide and
> 43 inches long.  This extraordinary thick felt was used for concert grand
> piano hammers, and although splendid results were achieved, the heavy
> hammer affected the touch too  much."

Yes, I've read this quote as well. Of course it tells us absolutely nothing
about how heavy any individual set of hammers might have been. It also
tells us nothing about their physical characteristics: how dense they might
have been, how resilient they were, etc. We can be fairly sure they were
cold pressed so we can assume they were probably softer and/or more
resilient than anything common today. But even this is speculation.


>
> Steinway uses 18 lb felt. today..
>

And this, also, tells us very little about their characteristics. I read
several years back of a Japanese company using "29 pound" felt on thier
concert grand hammers. If this so-called specification actually meant
anything the piano using these hammers would have been unplayable. As it
turned out the hammers were pretty typical of most any Japanese concert
grand.

Del