Kent writes: << there _is_ an identifiable mechanism by which glover's needles might damage hammer felt, and that is that they have sharp corners that appear to be sharp enough to slice fibers rather than simply spread fibers as regular sewing needles do. I still think glover's needles probably have no place in piano hammers. >> I agree. What I know is that I ruined some hammers with only the regular #6 needles by leaving the crown area alone while I continued to soften the shoulders. I stopped when the tone finally showed a change, but two weeks later, I found that the hammers had big tears down to the underfelt on either side of the contact area. I bet the glover's needles would have ruined them faster. The only intelligent demonstration for using the glover's needles I have seen was Chris Robinson's suggestion that ONE jab in each shoulder, all the way to the core, could really bring some of the softer pressed hammers to life. I tried it and it did work,but I never pursued it, since I could get the same results with more numerous sticks with a smaller needle. Regards, Ed Foote
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