Got some dough to blow, good prices on strings/hammers??

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Hi Stephen,
Do not take a knife to the hammers, you will either ruin them or make more
work than what you have now.
The steaming process takes less than two minutes to do and the hammers can
be ironed to dry them but I feel that letting them dry without the iron
results in a more mellow tone to start with in the voicing process.
It also sounds like the grit paper that you are using might be too fine.
I recommend #60 grit for a first pass.
60 will really tear the felt off quickly.
After the first pass finer papers, 120, 320 etc, can be used to smooth the
felt surface to give a very nice look to the hammers.
Joe Goss
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message -----
From: "Stephen Airy" <stephenairy@fastmail.fm>
To: "Piano Tech list - PTG" <pianotech@ptg.org>
Sent: Friday, May 17, 2002 3:07 AM
Subject: Re: Got some dough to blow, good prices on strings/hammers??


> Would there be anything against taking a knife and slicing the felt off
> to make the grooves shallow, then sand from there?  In the bass
> section, especially, some grooves are almost as deep as the strings are
> thick.
>
> On Thu, 16 May 2002 22:39:37 -0600, "Joe And Penny Goss"
> <imatunr@srvinet.com> said:
> > Hi Stephen,
> > Most likely when you shaped the hammers you really just pulled felt
> > into the
> > string cuts giving you the impression that the hammers were filed
> > enough.
> > On older well worn hammers, using steam to raise the felt prior to
> > filing
> > seems to help in reducing the amount of felt one needs to remove.
> > I use a wash cloth well wrung out that will cover a section of hammers
> > and
> > an old iron that we got at "Sallies". After steaming I let the hammers
> > dry
> > for an hour before doing any shaping.
> > Joe Goss
> > imatunr@srvinet.com
> > www.mothergoosetools.com
> > ----- Original Message -----
> > From: "Stephen Airy" <stephenairy@fastmail.fm>
> > To: "Piano Tech list - PTG" <pianotech@ptg.org>
> > Sent: Thursday, May 16, 2002 6:34 PM
> > Subject: Re: Got some dough to blow, good prices on strings/hammers??
> >
> >
> > > On Thu, 16 May 2002 00:57:02 -0500, kam544@flash.net said:
> > > > >I don't even have a credit card, and right now I don't have a job.
I
> > > > >just happen to have some dinero to spend (thanks to my b'day last
> > > > >month).
> > > > >Stephen Airy
> > > >
> > > > Stephen, List,
> > > >
> > > > This dinero you have currently received would be well spent in
> > > > seeking a professional on site inspection by a skilled piano
> > > > technician who could advise you on the most appropriate and needed
> > > > repairs for your piano, rather than your interest in wholesale
> > > > replacement of parts that might be satisfactory just as they are.
> > > >
> > >
> > > That sounds like a good idea.  I'll have to contact my local tech and
> > > see what we can set up.   (My mom's piano needs to be tuned soon,
> > > anyway, so maybe we could combine the appointment.)
> > >
> > > Could anyone post some things to look at or reference to where to find
> > > out what to look for, so I can do somewhat of an inspection myself?
> > > (It still would help to have a professional inspection, though.)
> > >
> > > About parts that might be satisfactory just as they are:  I'm not sure
> > > about that.
> > > Example: hammers.  They were fairly deeply grooved when I got the
> > > piano, and I filed them, helping make the grooves much shallower.
> > > Since then, I've played the piano a lot, and the grooves are now just
> > > as bad as if not worse than they were originally.  Also, they seem to
> > > have worn somewhat thin, so I'm not getting as good of a tone as I
> > > would like, nor as good as the piano used to have when I first got it
> > > (after it was tuned).
> > > Strings:  I've broken several in the bass.  Plain wire may be OK, but
I
> > > broke Middle C, and when i replaced it it had a better sound.
> > >
> > > I would love to take a bunch of close-up pics, but I don't have a
> > > digital camera or working scanner.  Does anyone know what it costs to
> > > get a roll of film developed onto a CD professionally?  (I was just
> > > looking at a few sites but I couldn't find the prices.)  I would
prefer
> > > the images to be high resolution (at least 1024x1536).
> > >
> > > > It could save you big time in the long run.
> > > >
> > > > Sincerely,
> > > >
> > > > Keith McGavern
> > > > Registered Piano Technician
> > > > Oklahoma Chapter 731
> > > > Piano Technicians Guild
> > > > USA
> > > > http://www.highpointpiano.com/ptg/conv/chicago2002/
> > > >
> > >
> > > --
> > >   Stephen Airy
> > >   stephenairy@fastmail.fm
> > >
> > > --
> > > http://fastmail.fm - 100% lightning
> >
> >
>
> --
>   Stephen Airy
>   stephenairy@fastmail.fm
>
> --
> http://fastmail.fm
>  - Ever wonder why we aren't named snailmail.sm?