Steam treating hard hammers

[Erwinspiano at aol.com]

Hi Wayne
 BTW.
   I wasn't trying to be smart or insensitive in my  prior posts.  Wether I 
sell a piano or rebuild one I am in the same spot as  you are if the client 
isn't happy with the voicing.  In fact I have on  several occasions,  
at my expense changed hammers or traveled some distance to  rectify 
voicing/other issues rather than cross swords with a client.  I  want em happy ASAP.
    I have also recommended hammer transplants  in some pianos as new as 2 
years old.ie.Kawai,Yamaha Samick ,Schafers,Baldwins.  I mean the factories are 
sometimes applying defective hammers.  It  happens.    
    In the past I've done the heroic methods to  create sound but if it 
doesn't work it doesn't . I am keenly aware of the  conditions of hammers & there 
densities due to hard knocks/experience.   I'm at a place where I just have  a 
little less patience for diddling with  a boat that's sinking.  Might as well 
swim & bail.
  That's all
  Hope it works out.....quickly
  Dale

No, the piano is not POS. We have been  selling pianos from China for about 
10 years and have bought from different  factories. At first we had pianos from 
1 factory that were POS but this piano  and others from 2 other factories are 
better quality. Just this one seem to  have problems with the hammers. I will 
not tell my customer through the thing  out, the piano was bought as an 
anniversary present by her husband from our  store. I just trying to make things 
right for this customer, if necessary we  may have to change hammers or give her 
another piano. I 'm trying fix the  problem before we have to go to that 
route.
 
Wayne
 
 
Wayne Walker
Piano Tuner /  Technician
 

Musicstop Acoustic Piano  Service
264 Herring Cove  Road
Halifax, NS,  Canada
B3P  1M1
 
902-221-1540
902-496-0041  Fax
_www.musicstop.com_ (http://www.musicstop.com/) 




-----Original Message-----
From: Joy McNabb  [mailto:joyfmb at msn.com] 
Sent: Wednesday, June 13, 2007 10:25  AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: Steam treating hard  hammers



Is the Chinese piano a PSO?  I am having to play on a Hallet-Davis  new baby 
grand that sounds like a  piece of junk-won't hold a tune and  I don't even 
think voicing will help this POS.  Through the thing  out!!!
 
Joy McNabb

----- Original Message ----- 
From: _Barbara Richmond_ (mailto:piano57 at insightbb.com)  
To: _Pianotech List_ (mailto:pianotech at ptg.org)  
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 8:17  PM
Subject: Re: Steam treating hard  hammers


Hi Wayne,
 
Hmm.  Is this a grand or an upright?  What  are the accoustics in the room 
like?
 
I haven't worked on any Chinese pianos. (What?! How  could that be?)  Did you 
just treat the crown, or did you work  on the shoulders, too?  Sorry, since I 
haven't worked on any of these  I can only think in general terms of voicing, 
so I'm just  guessing.  What type of needling did you do?  Needles, shallow  
and perpendicular to the crown?--or taking longer stitches under the  string 
groves?  Anyway, on hard pressed hammers, just taking a swipe  at the crown 
probably isn't going to give lasting or satisfactory  results.  It would be best 
to soften the shoulders, too--it will  broaden the tone--by increasing 
resiliency of the hammer/increasing the  sustain.  Did you try vise-grips on the 
shoulders?  Squeeze  enough to make the hammer felt cup a bit and then needle out 
the  cup. 
 
I hope something here helps.
 
Barbara Richmond, RPT
living a protected life near Peoria,  IL   

----- Original Message ----- 
From:  _Wayne Walker_ (mailto:wayne.w at musicstop.com)  
To: _pianotech at ptg.org_ (mailto:pianotech at ptg.org)  
Sent: Monday, June 11, 2007 2:34  PM
Subject: Steam treating hard  hammers


I  have a customer with a newer Chinese piano with harsh sounding hammers.  I 
have tried chemical softener, needled and the piano still sounds bad.  The 
customer has chemical sensitivity so I can't use anything in her  home now. I 
was there a couple of weeks ago and used the steam method on  the hammers and it 
work great. I was happy and the customer was happy,  but today she left a 
voice mail saying the piano is harsh sounding  again. How long will the steam 
method last? Will I need to do this  often? I just want to have a happy customer 
with out having to swap  pianos with her.
 
Wayne
 
 
Wayne  Walker
Piano Tuner /  Technician
 

Musicstop Acoustic Piano  Service
264 Herring  Cove Road
Halifax, NS,  Canada
B3P  1M1
 
902-221-1540
902-496-0041  Fax
_www.musicstop.com_ (http://www.musicstop.com/) 









 



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