Walter 175 hammers

[David Love]

That must be one of the early iterations when they were experimenting with
different hammers.  The Abels were tried first, I believe.  And that's what
those are.  I would definitely avoid any type of hardener with those
hammers.  File and polish and leave well enough alone.  As Del mentioned, if
that piano is in a large showroom now and you harden things up to get it to
present well there, somebody will be regretting the use of hardeners once it
gets to a living room.  It's a small piano with a low tension scale, light
soundboard and isn't designed to knock the walls down.  

 

David Love
davidlovepianos at comcast.net
www.davidlovepianos.com 

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Mark Dierauf
Sent: Monday, October 08, 2007 6:21 PM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re:Walter 175 hammers

 

Thanks, Del, Dale, and David. The hammers have mahogany-colored moldings, so
I guess that means Abel? Interesting. The piano is in a large showroom, so I
will advocate hardeners only as a last resort. Meanwhile, it'll be fun to
see how far I can take it with polishing/ironing. 

- Mark

Delwin D Fandrich wrote: 

I don't know what Renner hammers look like these days so from your
description
I'm not sure which hammers this piano has. If the moldings are dark-colored
they
are Abel. If the moldings are maple then the hammers are Ronsen. If the felt
is
Wurzen then the name "Wurzen" will be stamped on the sides of several
hammers.
 
Please remember that these pianos are not supposed to be bright and/or hard
sounding. They are supposed to be somewhat on the warm side. In fact, if you
try
to take them up too far the tone, especially in the bass, is going to get
some
knarly and nasty sounding.
 
If this piano is in the typical dealer's showroom the first thing I would do
is
to try and get it moved to an appropriately sized room. These pianos are not
intended to be used in large, open rooms and they can sound weak and overly
soft
when compared to other pianos having higher tensioned scales, stiffer
soundboard
systems and heavier, harder hammers. Put them into a room the size of the
typical household living room or small music room, however, and they sing
with a
tonal palette that is quite satisfying (and one those other pianos are
completely incapable of delivering).
 
I agree with David on this; avoid strong chemical hardeners if you can.
Frankly,
if the hammers are using Wurzen felt I would decline to harden them under
any
conditions but, obviously, that choice is between you and the dealer
involved.
If you do use a chemical hardener, use it judiciously and gently remembering
that once the piano is located in someone's home you may well be asked to
take
it out.
 
Del
 
 
 
| -----Original Message-----
| From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org 
| [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of Mark Dierauf
| Sent: October 07, 2007 5:13 AM
| To: Pianotech
| Subject: Walter 175 hammers
| 
| I have been asked to voice up a set of hammers on a new Charles Walter
| 175 grand. They look like Renner hammers, but are quite 
| mellow sounding. 
| Does anybody know if these are Wurzen felt? If I lacquer, 
| should I use the same techniques as on Steinway hammers, or 
| is there a better procedure for this type of hammer? The bass 
| in particular needs a lot more oompf.
| 
| - Mark Dierauf
| 
| 
 
 
 
  

 

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