[pianotech] Wurzen/Weickert felt

[David Love]

I find this system useful in the tenor and bass when keeping the shoulders
from becoming too rigid is a benefit or when the hammer set is very soft and
requires a stronger solution.  In the treble I find it's not that useful or
easy to apply the solution without it creeping up over the crown anyway.
There I just wick it slowly in from the shoulders trying to get it to creep
under the crown before it creeps up to the top of the crown.  In order to
keep the lacquer from crusting on the top of the hammer I sometimes add a
couple of small drops of pure acetone (with a fine needled 2 oz oiler) to
the top of the crown right after application does that job well.  In the
last five or six notes that is not necessary nor really desirable as it's
often difficult to get those hammers hard enough as it is and the surface
crustiness doesn't present the same problem.  Also, with these particular
Weickert felt hammers I've only really had to harden the upper two octaves
and then with a very weak solution (9:1) so the felt does not seem to lose
its elasticity.  

 

Nice to see your name on the list again Mr. Ballard.

 

David Love

www.davidlovepianos.com

 

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Wiliam Ballard
Sent: Tuesday, February 17, 2009 7:09 AM
To: Pianotech List
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Wurzen/Weickert felt

 

 

On Feb 17, 2009, at 9:38 AM, David C. Stanwood  wrote:

My other comment.... when I was in School at North Bennet St. (1978) Bill
Garlick taught us a technique which is very useful on these cold pressed
hammers as a really safe way of using lacquer for building drive in the
tone. Tip the stack up on its side and add some lacquer to the felt just
above the tip of the moulding... do one side then turn it around and do the
other... It gives foundation to the tone without having any deleterious
effects on the surface of the felt and maintains a beautiful ppp quality
that is the hallmark of a cold pressed hammer. The technique is consistent
with the Dolge model of voicing.?

 

I've been using this to very good effect for about six years now, after
hearing it mentioned on PTx (referred to as the "Pearl of Power", as I
remember).

 

Mechanically what's happening is that the felt just above the underfelt (and
the underfelt itself) is being moved from the flexible, live category
(hammer felt) to the solid, inert category (wooden hammer moulding).
Apparently, it's possible to have too much felt for good tone (especially
considering that the part from the strike point on down the hammer CL where
actual squash-under-impact occurs is quite shallow). Hardening under the
strike point has the effect of extending the height of the moulding and
subtracting from the thickness of the felt covering. I stay away from
reinforcing the strike point unless it's quite clear that that's the only
thing which will get me the sound I want.

 

Best Regards,

 

mrbl

 

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