Filing hammers

[David Love]

I don’t prefer the fabric backed paper.  It’s too pliable.  I use paper back
cut into strips about 3 inches wide and backed with masking tape to prevent
the paper from ripping and stiffen it a bit.  I file always toward the crown
from each side and then polish off the top tuft with something finer so you
can control it more easily.  When you get to the end of a section just work
carefully and use a fresh enough piece of paper that you don’t need to pull
very hard to get things to cut.  Don’t put pressure on the end hammer with
your hand because the paper is unsupported by an adjacent hammer as it is
with all the others.  Put pressure (light) only on the hammers one or two in
from the end of the section and the end hammer will get filed just fine.  

 

The angled hammers, needless to say, must be filed individually.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Stéphane Collin
Sent: Saturday, March 18, 2006 9:15 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Filing hammers

 

Hello list.

 

I have a newbee question.

I use to file hammers who need it this way : I put a wooden support between
the backchecks and the stack, under the hammers tails, and use a whole sheet
of sanding paper with kind of fabric flexible structure to gang-file about
15 hammers at the same time, using my right hand to tear the sheet and my
left one to put some pressure on the hammers, always tearing in the same
direction, starting with grit 60 down to very fine.  I get always nice
horizontal hammer crowns but the two outer hammers in the gang, who always
end up oblique, no matter how much care I develop to avoid this.  Of course,
I then rectify those two individually, but they end up with smaller hammer
heigth.

Is there some solution to this problem that obviously flew over my head ?

 

Thanks in advance for anything but cynism.

 

Stéphane Collin.

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