Del, One thing I have noticed is that maple and other smooth hardwoods require more aggressive roughening of the tails to get them to check right. With maple, birch and hornbeam a checkering file has to be used to get it to check reliable over time. This ads significantly to action noise. With sapiely, mahogany and walnut a light going over with a files card or 50 grit sandpaper is all that is needed. There's a bit more to selecting hammer molding wood than just strength and density. John Hartman RPT Delwin D Fandrich wrote: > I've encountered too many excellent hammers on old pianos using maple > moldings appropriately to accept all this "modern" hoopla over the perceived > tone qualities of one wood species over another at face value. Rather than > fussing about the species of wood used in the hammer molding we should be > pressing the hammer makers to give us hammers of lower density and greater > resilience, shaped properly and using moldings of appropriate shape and > cross-section. John Hartman Pianos [link redacted at request of site owner - Jul 25, 2015] Rebuilding Steinway and Mason & Hamlin Grand Pianos Since 1979 Piano Technicians Journal Journal Illustrator/Contributing Editor [link redacted at request of site owner - Jul 25, 2015]
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