Controlling steam hammer treatment

[David Ilvedson]

I come across the same thing...old Steinway hammers that won't be budged.   What's with those hammers?  

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA 94044





Original message
From: KeyKat88 at aol.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 9/18/2006 4:45:20 PM
Subject: Re: Controlling steam hammer treatment


Greetings, 
 
         That looks like a great method I am going to try it. It works with new hammers, does it work with very old hammers that are hard? Today I had a job to soften the tone of this ca,1920's piano's hammers. No matter how much I needled the things they were like stale dry pieces of bread.. o...r... ancient marshmellows of antiquity..... I even shallow needled the "forbidden" strike zone (oooOOO NO,, MR BILL.. DONT....oo...oooo  O NOoooooo!}  (thats what I say to myself when  I have to needle the crown...even if its shallowly, I feel guilty) I almost couldn't do a dang thing with them. Well, the tone did get alittle softer. Carding and needling did improve the tone, but not as much as I had expected.
 
Julia
Reading, PA
 
In a message dated 9/18/2006 2:21:36 PM Eastern Standard Time, drjazzca at yahoo.ca writes:
Hello
  
   Try this for a controlled focused use of steam.

  1) Cut a very thin cloth into a strip approx.
     18 inches long by 4 inches wide.
  2) Wet cloth 
  3) Wring out cloth well so it is only damp wet, 
     not dripping wet. 
  4) Support the hammer section to be voiced with a   
     rail, and lay the damp cloth over the hammers.
  5) Iron the hammers individually in the desired area
with a hammer iron, or as a group with an iron.

   I prefer individual ironing, as the tone and
duration of the sizzle cues me to drive an equal
amount of steam with each touch of the iron. This
method allows focused application of steam to just the
tip, or just the shoulder as desired. 

   I find steaming in this way is like sugar coating,
getting rid of the "uglies", but fails to add
anything. It removes content, not adding content to
the tone. Deep needling of the shoulders can bolster
lower partials, power, and sustain. I have found steam
voicing very effective for quick results that are
dramatic and pleasing on very hard hammers that seem
to be prevalent among certain new piano brands as
delivered. Quikly getting rid of some bite on these
pianos is often good to my ear.    

                           Cheers
                           David Renaud 
                           RPT
                           Canada
--------------------------------------------
Greetings, 
   How do you control the steam stream while executing
the steam hammer softening method? I would be
concerned about having hammers unravelling off the
core. Julia Gottshall Reading, PA
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