<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; charset=US-ASCII"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2963" name=GENERATOR></HEAD> <BODY id=role_body style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: #000000; FONT-FAMILY: Arial" bottomMargin=7 leftMargin=7 topMargin=7 rightMargin=7><FONT id=role_document face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>  Hey Terry</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>  I'm the proud owner of one this brilliant design & fine piece of engineering. This one is not 100 years old but built in the 20's.  I haven't looked at it for a while but the plate,board & block should come out as a unit.  BTW this is a very stiff board/system Partly because it has a very straight  bridge roughly 2 inches tall which accounts for  quite a lot of  mass to move things around.  The overall sound was very musical. We nicknamed it killer because it's heavy on one side & it fell over on Dennis when He & Jacob moved it.  ....He survived to name it.....yes.....killer</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>  When I hammer it  I will sample ,sample but I will lean towards trying the Wurzens first or  Whatever works best.  I am very excited to get this piano up & running.</EM></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><EM>  Dale</EM></STRONG></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue 2px solid"><FONT style="BACKGROUND-COLOR: transparent" face=Arial color=#000000 size=2> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm rebuilding a WNG action for a 100-year-old Julius Bauer grand - about 6-foot. This is the one with the lightly-built case, and plate that looks like it should be the frame for an army tank. It also has the soundboard with ribs on both sides. The belly is all original, in very good condition, and will be getting new damper felt and bass strings.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>I'm looking for recommendations for new hammers. I've been using mostly softer cold-pressed hammers, but those are for Del-Fandrich-designed bellies. I suspect this soundboard differs significantly from a Del-design - and as such, may well do better with a different type of hammer. I've used Abel Lights with much success on original-bellied old American pianos in the past (S&S, Baldwin, others), and left unguided, I might be inclined to go with them - just thinking that the soundboard is likely not as efficient as a Fandrich-design and might benefit from the firmer hammer.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Anyone have any thoughts on this matter? Thanks.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Terry Farrell</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>BTW: This piano is absolutely amazing. I have never seen a more finely constructed piano. The plate must have twice or more the cast iron that a similar-sized Baldwin or S&S would have. The pinblock is surrounded on five sides with cast iron - only the bottom is open. The belly rail is arched - like a full inch - to induce a crown into the soundboard. So many unusual features - the lack of wooden rim (only a small one) and complete lack of rim bracing - and the way the plate is the entire structural component of the piano - this is really a cast-iron piano with a decorative wooden case. If you enjoy studying piano design and construction, you really need to go through one of these very fine pianos.</FONT></DIV></FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DIV> <DIV></DIV> <DIV> </DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>