Speaking of examples of pre war D’s where the hammers were not hardened, Dale, you might recall a certain piano from a large religious organization in San Francisco that you did a complete rebuild on (new board, action, finish--needed it too!). Having seen that piano on several occasions in its pre rebuilt and completely original condition days, I recall noting that those hammers were completely unadulterated. One thing that's difficult to know about those vintage hammers that seem to contain lacquer is whether the application was done originally or sometime later (like half a century) by some well meaning tech after it had become more of an accepted procedure. That I run into enough of these pianos where needle insertion is virtually uninhibited and there is no apparent evidence of any hardeners makes me think that hardening wasn't part of the SOP at the time they were produced.
David Love
www.davidlovepianos.com
Many times I will find a set of pre-war hammers that are almost intact. Thinking perhaps I can use these,... only to find upon inserting a needle that the felt grabs the needle and the felt gets harder and grabbier the deeper I push. This is not the characteristic I expect in an untreated/un-hardened pre-war Weickert felt hammer.
AS David L. said...the virgin ones are quite different. I agree.
Dale
If one is exposed to enough original sets of pre -war Steinway hammers and tried to get needles into the suckers then the odds are greater that you can't because there too D_ _ _ hard due to lacquer/shellac/or magic crystals. When that solution was applied of course is anybodys guess but it was obviously done for a reason. SO lets extrapolate! ok?Somebody wanted a change in tone.
Odd. I’ve been exposed to quite a few pre-war Steinway hammers and have rarely found evidence of chemical hardeners.
ddf
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