I wrote about needling hard hammers: > . . . with a single #6 needle that is almost long enough to reach the core wood. David asks: > What kind of needle do you use and how do you keep them from breaking? Every time I try a length longer than about 5/16", they break on me. I have found that you can't get the needle in, all the way, at first. So, I begin softening the shoulder with shallower jabs, gradually getting full penetration after maybe 15 or so progressively deeper needles. I suppose I voice by tactile feel, first. By now, I know what a nicely voiced hammer feels like on the shoulders, and prep them accordingly. (note, this is NOT a technique for Steinway hammers that are loaded with lacquer). > The hammers are so hard that if you begin at the upper shoulder, the > tension in them will tear them apart after a while. > Regards, > Ed Foote RPT >>Is that indeed what's happening in a hammer with lots of tension -- like bending a rope sharply, then hacking at the top of the bend with a knife, gradually cutting the fibers and making it pull apart? >> That seems to be an appropriate analogy. With sufficiently soft shoulders, graduated to real hardness under the strike point, the hammers hold together quite well and respond very sensitively to needles going in near the strike point. Regards, Ed Foote RPT http://www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/index.html www.uk-piano.org/edfoote/well_tempered_piano.html <A HREF="http://artists.mp3s.com/artists/399/six_degrees_of_tonality.html"> MP3.com: Six Degrees of Tonality</A>
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