kneading hammers

[David Boyce]

Well Rupert, it just goes to show, I can't find a thing when it's staring me 
in the face!

There it is sure enough on p61 of my revised third edition 1976 reprint.

That one little paragraph raises big questions and leaves 'em unanswered, I 
fear.  What is meant by gas pliers?  Pliers such as would be used by a 
gasfitter?  The idea of gripping the hammer  felt then levering it from side 
to side fills me with qualms.  If you actually levered the felt by any 
perceptible amount, I think it would be awfully easy to do untold damage. 
In my view, gentle compression without any twisting or levering would be 
safer.

If you have the felt of a bass hammer in the jaws of a pair of pliers, and 
you squeeze the pliers, then at least momentarily you are reducing the width 
of the hammer.  The felt has to go SOMEWHERE so presumably in altering shape 
momenatily it redistributes itself, and in forcing that to happen, you open 
up the fibers of the felt inside the hammer to some degree.

I guess you are doing the right thing, in experimenting cautiously on pianos 
where you won't get sued if it goes horribly wrong!

Best,

David.