light hammers

[James McCormac]

Along the lines of the light hammer thread, I found an article in the 
current issue of Piano & Keyboard (Sept/Oct 1997) which speaks to this 
topic in an interesting way -- at least in a way that was new to me.  
Entitled "A Tip for the Top,"  Robert Cloutier of the U. Oregon at 
Eugene, suggests a method to take weight off hammers.  He states: "I 
offer the following advice to anyone with a new steinway (especially a 
concert instrument), or to anyone with a Seinway which has recently been 
re-hammered (with genuine parts)."  Rather than remove material from the 
sides of the moulding of the hammer, he recommends removing material fore 
and aft of the moulding just above where the shank enters the moulding.  
He continues:"Removing the wood makes the hammer more flexible.  The 
improvement in the sustaining 'ring' of the treble is substantial."  He 
posits that Steinways over fifty years old have hammershanks with smaller 
diameters and thus more flexibility.  His procedure is designed to 
restore this flexibility and he applies it throughout the upper third of 
the keyboard.
	My questions to the list are as follows --
Has anyone else tried this procedure, and with what success?
If the older Steinways have a singing treble because of smaller shanks, 
why not remove material from the shanks as is suggested by not a few 
experienced technicians, and thus achieve the desired flexibility?
It seems to me that removing material fore and aft just above the shank 
hole is asking for a failure of the moulding.  This  might occur when it 
is time to reshape the hammer either with a sanding paddle or sandpaper 
strips.  A fair amount of force is directed fore and aft on the hammer 
when sanding. Finally, does Cloutier's method achieve the desired results 
with less effort?  I suppose that a rattail file on the moulding is 
easier than using a router to reduce the mass of a hammershank -- no jig, 
no chance of messing up a shank, etc.  
	I would appreciate the counsel of more experienced techs.
Jim McCormac
Associate
Fallbrook, CA