New Steinway Hammer replacement

[A440A@AOL.COM]

Greetings, Arthur writes: 
>I am putting a new set of Steinway hammers shanks and flanges on a 1901 
model A grand. 
>I was told by Kent Webb to use 1part lacquer and 3 parts acetone and to soak 
the hammers completely.  If >anyone has experince with this method or a 
different method your help would be greatly appreciated.



   Yes, i did that once.  The hammers sounded good for about three hours of 
playing, and then some of them began sounding like a tin can.  Sticking 
needles down in the crown, as per factory instruction,  took out the clang, 
but killed the tonal range. Since then, I have avoided soaking the hammers 
and have found much nicer results with a different approach.  
  >I am afraid of getting these hammers too hard and have difficulty voicing 
them.   

You should be. I feel that a completely soaked hammer produces a narrow range 
of tone.  Our brand new D at Vanderbilt was only played for about a week 
before the head of the piano department refused to use it for a performance 
due to the harshness that had appeared.  I think a premium instrument should 
be more durable than that, so I approach the hammers differently.   
    I would suggest that before hanging,  you use 4:1 lacquer and thinner, 
and soak the hammers' shoulders so that the penetration creates a halfmoon 
shaped area, extending from the lower and mid shoulder towards the tip of the 
hammer core.  This will take approx one eyedropper full on both sides and 
leaves a wedge of unlacqued felt under the strike point, which can then be 
juiced up as needed after the hammers are in the piano.  The very top octave 
just might require a full soak, though.  
 
Good luck, 
Ed Foote RPT