---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment On 17-jan-04, at 19:55, Farrell wrote: > "It means getting a new hammer that weighs exactly as much as the=20 > original." > =A0 > And what was the evaluation process that led you to the conclusion=20 > that the original weight was optimal? And was the original weight=20 > optimal for the piano when it was new? Would the original hammer=20 > weight and hammer felt density be optimal for the 90 year old piano?=20= > Are all the properties of the 90 year old compression crowned=20 > soundboard exactly the same as they were when it was new? > =A0 > I'm not saying that hammers with characteristics of the originals=20 > won't be the best thing for it, but I also think that a hammer with=20 > some different characteristics=A0it is a legitimate consideration = given=20 > that the rest of the piano is not likely to be just as it was when=20 > new. > =A0 > Terry Farrell Hi Terry, If we just stick to the original hammers of an older Steinway grand=20 piano, it would seem reasonable to me that bass hammers number 1 will=20 have been used the least of all the other hammers in that very same=20 instrument. Furthermore, the nr 1 bass hammer is usually a fairly=20 logical indication of what we might expect of the rest of the hammer=20 set. It would also seem reasonable to assume that this very same hammer nr 1=20= will have been filed at least once and that we may assume that these=20 older hammers will have lost most of their initial moisture and that=20 their inner texture too has changed over the decennia. It is just like=20= wood, it becomes brittle, is very dry, looses some atoms and in the=20 bitter end will fall apart As the weight of a hammer is mostly determined by the mass of the felt=20= and not by the wood, I would assume that it is very well possible that=20= the weight of the older nr 1 hammer will have been diminished by 1=20 gram, due to the damage caused by playing, hammer filing, and the=20 natural aging of the wool. 1 gram is more than we think because it equals about 5 grams in the=20 front. So if we weigh this old number 1 bass hammer and we subtract 1 gram, I=20= personally believe that you come very close to the original hammer=20 weight. Now if you for instance take an old Bechstein grand, and you play on=20 it, you will notice that it usually feels very very light, somewhere=20 around 40-45 grams. If you weight hammer nr 1 you may come to the conclusion that the=20 weight is around 8-10 grams. If I now order a Renner Bechstein set, I always make an exact outline=20 drawing of the original hammers (first and last hammer of bass section,=20= and first and last hammer of treble section) and I also supply the=20 factory with the necessary data like drilling and angle measure. When I get an exact copy of the hammers I ordered, I weigh the=20 difference between the original hammer nr 1 and the new hammer nr 1,=20 and the difference is usual more than 2 grams ! hello! I know that the original wood, used for older Hamburg Steinways was a=20 little lighter than the wood they use now. If we take a close look at=20 original Hamburg Steinway hammers (the ones with the yellow under felt=20= ) we notice that the width of those hammers usually is =B1 10 mm at the=20= top and about 5-6 mm down at the tail. Those hammers weighed almost nothing and it must have taken hours of=20 intense and concentrated manual labor to prepare just one set for a=20 grand piano. I have tried it myself with so called light weight Steinway copies from=20= either Abel or Renner. The Abels were always the heavier ones, even after painstakingly taking=20= off excess weight. I know why : it is because of the Abel VFG felt which is more dense=20 than the Wurzen felt used by Renner and it also has to do with the=20 process of making felt for piano hammers. (For that very same reason=20 Abel hammers will also always give a louder tone and require much more=20= needling) The Wurzen felt is more open, less dense, because they do not allow it=20= to 'felt' to the max in the Wurzen factory. For that reason the Wurzen felt hammers weigh less, but even so, the=20 new hammers always weigh a lot more than the original ones, unless you=20= ask a factory to make them less heavy. Now if we go back to the original issue of replacing a hammer set, it=20= becomes obvious that we have to take great care in choosing 'the right'=20= hammer from the right hammer maker. P.S. Again.. I am not talking about American hammers or American=20 instruments, but only about my experiences with Hamburg Steinway hammer=20= changes. friendly greetings from Andr=E9 Oorebeek Amsterdam - The Netherlands 0031-20-6237357 0645-492389 0031-75-6226878 www.concertpianoservice.nl www.grandpiano.nl ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment A non-text attachment was scrubbed... Name: not available Type: text/enriched Size: 4769 bytes Desc: not available Url : https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/cf/a5/48/ed/attachment.bin ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC