Hammers with no inner felt.

[Bill Ballard]

At 3:54 PM -0400 7/25/02, Erwinspiano@AOL.COM wrote:
>With modern hammer making techniques--very moist felt, lots of steam and
>heat--cracking is less of a problem and thicker felt can more easily be
>used. Considerable resilience is lost in the process but this no longer
>seems to be a desirable characteristic for piano hammers.
>
>Regards,
>
>Anyone
>
>
>               O.K. I'll bite Del. It's a mostly, largely 
>undesireable charachteristic and detrimental to the kind of piano 
>tone I want to be able to develop. I'm guessin  you too. But hey 
>were( I'm) in the minority.  I won't go on with more of the same 
>opinion I've expressed before.
>>>>>>Dale  Erwin>>>

I actually liked the way Del made his point, guaranteed not to 
offend. And he could have. It's one thing to stay that resilience is 
not longer the valuable commodity. It's another to say what has 
replaced it, namely (dare I speak its name?): streamlined production 
processes which produce large quantities in a consistent quality 
(whatever it may be).

It is the hammer which has not had its resilience thermoplasticized 
out of it which, soft though it may be, is ready for 
working-hardening. This "after-market" process really ripens the 
resilience, and allows the tone to mature into something great.

Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter, P.T.G.

"If you jabber like a jabberwocky and if you walk like a jabberwocky,
You must be a jabberwocky"
     ........... two punchy guys
+++++++++++++++++++++