<html> <body> Dale, <x-tab>        </x-tab>Thanks very much for the pictures and the story. Both you and Ray are a great credit to this industry! Greg Newell At 11:05 PM 4/27/2007, you wrote: <blockquote type=cite class=cite cite="">In a message dated 4/26/2007 9:42:04 P.M. Pacific Daylight Time, Erwinspiano writes: <dl> <dd> 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. <dd>  My Dad & I started enjoying the & using Ronsen hammers in the early 70's on mostly uprights. <dd>    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. <dd>  On Rays business card it says "Custom Made Hammers."  Gotta love that. <dd>  They do not make shelf stock.  Everything is 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. <dd> 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. <dd>  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. <dd>  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!! <dd>  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. <dd>  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. <dd>   Any way we had fun & I was duly impressed. So for now I'll stick with boards & actions, <dd>   Ray can make the Hammers.<img src="cid:7.1.0.9.0.20070430002938.01c0a538@ameritech.net.2" width=480 height=360 alt="[]"> <img src="cid:7.1.0.9.0.20070430002938.01c0a538@ameritech.net.3" width=480 height=360 alt="[]"> <dd>    I can honestly say this is a very unique hammer unlike any made anywhere else. </dl>  Dale Erwin   <hr> See what's free at <a href="http://www.aol.com?ncid=AOLAOF00020000000503">AOL.com</a>. </blockquote> <x-sigsep></x-sigsep> Greg Newell Greg's Piano Forté <a href="http://www.gregspianoforte.com/" eudora="autourl"> www.gregspianoforte.com </a>216-226-3791 (office) 216-470-8634 (mobile) 2003,04,05 & 06 winners of Angie's List Super Service Award </body> </html>