[pianotech] Appropriate replacement hammers for Winter spinet?

[Dale Erwin]

  Kurt
  We did one of these in our shop this year for exactly the same reasons.  Install the VFG felt that we sell at Ronsen. It is the most economical quality hammer on the planet. I've used this hammer in many verticals and it is instant music.
   Use the 14lb variety and specify what it is for.
   I added no juice and no needling. The cost is reasonable.  I can send you the current price sheet if you wish. 
   The client plays the piano and was very happy with it.  It really did transform the piano into the best sounding winter you could hear. 
    We did some regulation and basic service and called it a day

 

 

Dale S. Erwin
Ronsen Piano hammers
209-577-8397
209-985-0990



 

 

-----Original Message-----
From: Kurt Baxter <fortefile at gmail.com>
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Sent: Wed, Jan 5, 2011 7:11 pm
Subject: Re: [pianotech] Appropriate replacement hammers for Winter spinet?


My last upright hammer replacement I used a set of Abel "Naturals" and quite liked them. They sounded fine right out of the box. It was a full size upright though... Do you think the Abels would be too firm for a WW2 era spinet? The scale seems really low tension, and that is part of what they like about the sound.






-kurt









On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 9:22 PM, J Patrick Draine <jpdraine at gmail.com> wrote:

Oh please don't do the "just glue them back on" trip. Really, it sounds much better with new Ronsens. But no, the one time I did this the only other "new parts" were bridle straps. Patrick




On Wed, Jan 5, 2011 at 8:50 PM, Kurt Baxter <fortefile at gmail.com> wrote:




Why not just glue all the felts you have back on? 



--


I am still considering this option, but being that there are about 7 missing felts, once I find salvaged hammers that fit, match/drill/glue those hammers *in place* (and glue/clamp the 12 lifting felts), or pull the whole thing and take it to the shop, the cost could be well on way towards a new set of hammers, AND with the added risk that that rest of the hammers could fail at any time. 


Plus, this client actually seems interested in doing the job right. It's just giving me a bit of whiplash that I found a spinet owner interested in doing any piano repair job right.


A bit off the topic, has anyone here ever done a full rebuild on a spinet?






-kurt








 
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