[pianotech] Appropriate replacement hammers for Winter spinet?

Terry Farrell mfarrel2 at tampabay.rr.com
Wed Jan 5 17:38:23 MST 2011


No, only reason it's not often is benefit/cost.

Why not just glue all the felts you have back on? Thick CA works quite  
well. Replace the few hammers that have lost their felt with similar  
used hammers. I can't imagine there would be any significant "loss" of  
tone.

Terry Farrell

On Jan 5, 2011, at 6:49 PM, Kurt Baxter wrote:

> I know, the correct answer is "none", but hear me out...
>
> I just did an evaluation on an actually rather pretty Winter spinet  
> from the 40s (post ivory, pre plastic elbows). The piano has  
> sentimental value, has been in the family a long time, and was  
> refinished (skillfully) by the wife's father. It's one of those  
> ornate "grand lyre" style cases with beautifully book-matched semi- 
> burled walnut.
>
> Besides a handful of other more minor problems, the big one is that  
> the hammer felt is falling off. A few hammers have been replaced  
> (poorly), some have been "repaired" with a thumb tack, about 6 are  
> missing felt completely, and quite a few more are starting to tear  
> off. I told the customer that the piano cannot be made playable  
> without new hammers, and they want to go ahead with the repairs.
>
> The customer is pleased with the tone/touch of the piano as-is, so  
> my goal is to match the character and weight of the original hammers  
> as closely as possible.
>
> Will I be able to buy hammers that are small/soft enough to be  
> appropriate? Cold or hot pressed?
>
> Are there any unique problems involved in rehammering a spinet?
>
> I get the impression spinets seldom (if ever) get new hammers, so I  
> was wondering if there was any reason besides the obvious "costs  
> more than the piano is worth" issue, which is not a relevant factor  
> in this case.
>
>
>
>
> -kurt
>
>
>
>



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