Abel Hammers..trouble opening them up..help!

[Greg Newell]

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Thank you David for the well written reply! That clarifies it quite a bit=20
for me.

Greg Newell



At 07:03 PM 10/31/2003, you wrote:


>----- Original Message -----
>From: "Greg Newell" <gnewell@ameritech.net>
>To: <phil@philbondi.com>; "Pianotech" <pianotech@ptg.org>
>Sent: Friday, October 31, 2003 1:50 PM
>Subject: RE: Abel Hammers..trouble opening them up..help!
>Phil and list,
>          I've always been puzzled by this vice grip procedure. It seems
>obvious but just for clarification are the vice grip jaws placed on the
>flat sides of the hammers or opened up wide to accommodate the rounded
>shoulders?
>Greg Newell
>
>At 09:17 AM 10/31/2003, you wrote:
>
> >Vice grip the crown area ever so slightly..just enough to feel the
> >resistance in the vice grips, then steam the shoulders.
>
>      [Vise vise vise!  A vice is a bad habit]  The vise grips are applied=
=20
> to the flat sides of the hammer.  If you adjust them so that the jaws are=
=20
> just a wee bit narrower than the width of the hammer, then they can't=20
> close all the way and you're not as likely to "go too far" with the=20
> squeezing.  I still use this tool despite arguments that it "destroys the=
=20
> felt", "is likely to pull the hammer felt off the moulding", etc.  If=20
> those things happen, you're doing it wrong.  I use them only for hammers=
=20
> that are extremely dense or hard, and as a prelude to finer voicing with=
=20
> a needle or needles.  If the voicing needle won't go into the felt even=20
> with a hard stab, or a weighted voicing tool handle, then the felt is too=
=20
> dang hard.  Squeeze them with Vise Grips!  Or soften them first with some=
=20
> liquid solution.  But squeeze only on the shoulders, not the strike=20
> point, except in extreme cases (and there are quite a few extremely=20
> bright pianos out there).  Admittedly it's harder to do i!
>n the high treble, because there's not much felt to grab, and sometimes it=
=20
>can "cup" the felt, but not too badly if you take it easy, and you can do=
=20
>a light gang-filing afterwards.  I don't see how it "destroys the felt"=20
>unless you're really mauling and mangling away at 'em.
>     --David Nereson, RPT
>
>_______________________________________________
>pianotech list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives

Greg Newell
Greg's piano Fort=E9
mailto:gnewell@ameritech.net=20

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