[CAUT] Experiment Success - second thought

[ed440 at mindspring.com]

New hammers have resilient shoulders.  The flexible shoulders help to produce a spectrum of timbres.

Worn hammers like you describe don't really have any "springs" left. You can soften the surface to produce a less bright tone, and that's about all you can do.

Spray with alcohol and water.

File to make them as round as you can.

Needle from the side, close to the surface to open a top layer of felt.

Brush gently with a wire brush.

Ed Sutton


-----Original Message-----
>From: Annie Grieshop <annie at allthingspiano.com>
>Sent: Apr 5, 2007 10:29 AM
>To: College and University Technicians <caut at ptg.org>
>Subject: Re: [CAUT] Experiment Success - second thought
>
>At the risk of sounding a bit like "Hints from Heloise", washing soda also
>has the effect of relaxing fibers and is surely caustic enough to neutralize
>vinegar. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sodium_carbonate
>
>I'm looking for anything that might help with the dessicated hammers found
>on the old pianos that my customers can't afford to replace but need for
>their kids' lessons.
>
>Annie Grieshop
>  -----Original Message-----
>  From: caut-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:caut-bounces at ptg.org]On Behalf Of
>Richard Adkins
>  Sent: Thursday, April 05, 2007 8:34 AM
>  To: Caut
>  Subject: [CAUT] Experiment Success
>
>
>  Someone asked if there might be a way to make your own fabric
>softener/hammer softener....you'd want to know the ingredients....I guess
>you'll need to be a chemist or know one to get the proportions....
>
>  You can find out ingredients by looking here:
>
>  http://householdproducts.nlm.nih.gov/cgi-bin/household/prodtree?prodcat=Ho
>me+inside&purpose=Laundry&type=fabric+softener
>
>  click on the brand type....you can click on the ingredient name once the
>brand page is
>  up...some have fancy names for what they put in there....I like the one
>they call "hydrogenated tallow"...now that sounds like something we'd like
>toput in a nice set of german piano hammers, doesn't it?
>
>  Downy does not list their ingredients, so I'm not sure if what you can
>find will actually work like Downy
>  does....here's some more....also found in some hair rinses....leave the
>hair soft and silky.....maybe you
>  could give the piano a real silky tone with it?
>
>  (C14-C18) Dialkyldimethylammonium methyl sulfate
>
>  Di (C14-1S-alkyl) dimethyl methyl sulfate
>
>  Didn't we used to have a Chemist/Caut member, or was that over on the
>other PTG list?
>
>  "Science.enotes.com"  has an article you might read:
>
>  http://science.enotes.com/how-products-encyclopedia/fabric-softener
>
>  cheers...
>
>  Richard Adkins
>  Coe College