Hearing problems/hard hammers

[Horace Greeley]

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This is actually covered someplace in the archives.

This approach is best done in one's shop.

  - Remove the stack from the action
  - Tilt the stack over so that the tails of the hammers rest in the 
thoughtfully provided and place aluminum ice-cube trays (Avery) you 
already have waiting.
  - Flood the hammers with as much acetone as they will take, 
probably several passes.
  - Cover the hammers with aluminum foil.
  - Depending on when you start in the day, wait several hours and/or 
overnight, adding more acetone until you can begin to see/feel the 
keytop wash out.
  - Once you can see/feel that the keytop is again in emulsion, use 
your OSHA-safe air-hose to blast the solution out of the hammers and 
into the ice cube trays.
  - Depending on how screwed up the hammers are to start with, you 
may need to do this more than once, with additional flooding of the 
hammers and waiting in between times.
  - Once you are getting a flow of fairly clear fluid out of the 
hammers, this method is pretty well done with what it can do for you.
  - Wait a day or so, then shape marginally, & etc..
  - Importantly, do not do too much preshaping/voicing until you hear 
where you are at the instrument.

Does it work...well...yes...most times there will be a noticeable 
improvement...sometimes, depending on how badly damaged the hammers 
were to start with, you can save the cost of a new set of 
hammers.  The whole operation does not take significant amounts of 
time in one sitting.  Rather several hours spaced out over a day or 
so, and can thus be fit in with other work.

FWIW, most Seilers come with hammers that are not only too hard to 
begin with.  They also seem to be hardened at the factory (with what 
seems like lacquer) to a point that is indefensible.  So, you are 
dealing not only with whatever the other technician applied; but also 
whatever was done at the factory/dealer to begin with.  I would like 
to recommend the Wurzen hammers to start with; and do so with the 
caveat that there are some instruments/makers/models which seem to 
require a harder hammer to get much going in the way of sound.  YMMV.

Good luck.

Best.

Horace


At 08:05 PM 9/7/2005, you wrote:
>Barbara,
>     I haven't used the keytop hardener very often and only 
> sparingly when I did,
>but a tech at one of our Boston chapter meetings advised flushing 
>the stuff out with acetone in a situation such as yours.
>He advised really soaking the hammer to "desolidify" then once more 
>to wash it down and away from the strike-shoulder area.
>     Again , I'm suggesting an approach that I have not as yet 
> tried, but what do you have to lose?
>     Best of luck,
>     Tom Driscoll
>----- Original Message -----
>From: <mailto:piano57@insightbb.com>Barbara Richmond
>To: <mailto:pianotech@ptg.org>Pianotech
>Sent: Wednesday, September 07, 2005 4:35 PM
>Subject: Hearing problems/hard hammers

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