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<DIV>In a message dated 4/26/2007 9:42:04 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time,
Erwinspiano writes:</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><STRONG><EM> Still recovering from MARC the Jet lag and trying to
get back in the saddle but I finally was able to spend time with Ray Negron at
the Ronsen Piano hammah plant in Lovely serene Boiceville in up state New
York.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> My Dad & I started enjoying the & using Ronsen
hammers in the early 70's on mostly uprights. </EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> The business Rays father began is now
firmly handled by Ray & his brother Bob. The product is getting rave
reviews as any on the list must know by now.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> On Rays business card it says "Custom Made
Hammers." Gotta love that.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> They do not make shelf stock. Everything <FONT size=4><U>is </U></FONT>custom made to order as it comes in and Custom made
means very intensive hand crafting & the intuitive kind of craftsmanship
that only comes with years of putting your own hands on the felt,
the product & the hammer press. I had the privilege to have a little
hands on & I can tell you ....it taint' as easy as Ray makes it look.
</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> I've probably used a least a hundred sets of his
hammers in the last 12 years & have marveled at the consistency of each
set of hammers. Now that I see the way its' done & the hand work
that goes into each set I understand why. Like many of you, Ray is a
very fussy a dedicated craftsman. He wants every set to be the best he can
produce.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> We pressed up a few sets of hammers while there &
it was fascinating to see the different qualities of felt in each stage of
manufacture. Making hammers is an art form that requires the tactile sense of
feeling pressure of felt sheets,cutting,sanding,slicing & most of all the
pressing.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> Here's the cool thing. Because felt sheets from
various makers are all slightly different densities as consistencies it
absolutely critical that the man running the press has the feel of how tight
to turn the press to allow adequate compression & tension to exists in
each set. Yes, this is a mechanical press as you'll see below. & each
of the 5 or 6 screws on top is turned to particular feel in Rays hands.
I learned that I do not have the magic touch at this point so keep ordering
from Ray!! </EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> I also can extrapolate that if the press screws that
apply the downward force were attached to hydraulic cylinders that
the hand feel on the press wrench that adapts to the variable
stiffness requirement of felt sheets, the consistency would change &
possibly disappear.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> The side cauls also require this kind of feel, a feel
that also varies with what the stiffness of the felt is telling him.
Hmmm ....bio feed back. Cool.</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> Any way we had fun & I was duly
impressed. So for now I'll stick with boards &
actions,</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> Ray can make the Hammers.<IMG SRC="cid:X.MA1.1177729524@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 360px" height=360 width=480 vspace=5 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="59964" ID="MA1.1177729524" ><IMG SRC="cid:X.MA2.1177729524@aol.com" style="WIDTH: 480px; HEIGHT: 360px" height=360 width=480 vspace=5 comp_state="speed" DATASIZE="40896" ID="MA2.1177729524" ></EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><EM> I can honestly say this is a very unique
hammer unlike any made anywhere else.</EM></STRONG></FONT></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE>
<DIV> <STRONG><EM> Dale Erwin</EM></STRONG></DIV>
<DIV></DIV>
<DIV> </DIV></FONT><BR><BR><BR><DIV><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px">See what's free at <A title="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503" href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503" target="_blank">AOL.com</A>. </FONT></DIV></BODY></HTML>