<WBR>  <FONT face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">Hi Serge<br>   Good to hear from you. So, this means I must recant on the <STRONG>Only one the Planet</STRONG> part.   I humbly do so.<br>   The salient point I was making  was Ray is our only source who provides these hammers readily and commercially and, that they are made with a  Dolge type screw press. He's the only one I/we are familiar with.  If there are others that provide product like this we should surely be informed of it.<br>    I know you are  Rays friend & I knew you made hammers for your own use.  How incredibly valuable is your mutual association.<br>     To my defense...I'm  probably not the only one who hasn't ever heard of the Paris firm.  As for the Chinese I hear the results are  very inconsistent,  apparently no matter what press they use. However that could change being the quick and bright students of any craft that they are. <br>   Anyway for the last 40 years Ray & his family have & continue to be our reliable, and dependable  supply of this type of hammer in the states & his expertise is surely unparalleled.<br>  In my book he is a true Master Hammer maker. Tom..I like the Golden hammer winner idea!<br>   Kindest regards<br> <br> </FONT><FONT face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif">  Dale Erwin<br> </FONT><br> <br> <br> <div id=AOLMsgPart_2_3ea0d36c-42b1-4493-8614-658941b7fba6> <div dir=ltr> <div>Dear Dale</div> <div> </div> <div>Sorry Dale but Ray is just the only one in USA not on the PLANET. </div> <div>The majority of the hammer head from China are hand screw press.</div> <div>And there is a French maker in Paris: Desfougere that use hand presses</div> <div>And I'm the only one to use the real Alfred Dolge presses</div> <div> </div> <div>I do agree with all you said about the felt and how to press it and Ray do good jog for sure.</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div>Serge Harel</div> <div>Canada</div> <div> </div> <div> </div> <div><br>  </div> <div class=gmail_quote>2008/10/15 <SPAN dir=ltr><<A href="mailto:erwinspiano@aol.com">erwinspiano@aol.com</A>></SPAN><br> <BLOCKQUOTE class=gmail_quote style="PADDING-LEFT: 1ex; MARGIN: 0px 0px 0px 0.8ex; BORDER-LEFT: #ccc 1px solid"><br> <br> <FONT face="Comic Sans MS, sans-serif"> David L. David A.<br>   I thank you for this post.<STRONG><U><FONT size=3> Ray is the only guy on the planet providing hammers commercially using the hand screw press</FONT></U></STRONG>. It is this fact, which allows for his artisan approach to hammer making., that and 40 years of experience and dedication. Truly impressive. He'd be blushing to hear me go on. He deserves it.<br>  As Will Truit said hammers and felt vary, it's the real world, get over it. Felt making is absolutely an art form and yet densities in a felt sheet can vary from sheet to sheet. The beauty of the Dolge screw press is that the operator can feel how much pressure each uniquely made strip of felt requires to achieve a narrow spectrum of density in the final product. This so important because hydraulic presses can literally squash the life out of felt especially when coupled with too much heat. Rays hands can feel this pressure. I've been there I've turned the screws. It's an acquired skill to be sure. Hey it keeps him in shape.<br>   <br>   Dale Erwin</FONT> <div> <div></div> <div class=Wj3C7c><br> <br> <div> <div> <div><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Yes it is.  And I hope people appreciate Ray and what he is doing delivering a custom made hammer and responding to the needs and input from the techs.  Not to diminish the commitments of the other suppliers like Abel and Renner who deliver a very high quality product but it tends to be more of a one style fits all approach.  Ray is really trying to respond to the variety of tonal requirements that are part of our daily bread.  There isn't anyone else doing this with hammers right now and he should be applauded and supported!  </SPAN></FONT></div> <div> <div><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy">David</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy"> Love</SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy size=2><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy"><br> <A href="mailto:davidlovepianos@comcast.net">davidlovepianos@comcast.net</A><br> <A href="http://www.davidlovepianos.com/" target=_blank>www.davidlovepianos.com</A></SPAN></FONT><FONT color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> </SPAN></FONT></div> </div> <div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">. I guess that's the beauty of dealing with a custom artisan like Ray Negron at Ronsen---he can do it for us.</SPAN></FONT></div> </div> <div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></div> </div> <div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt">DA</SPAN></FONT></div> </div> <div style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"> </SPAN></FONT></div> </div> </div> <div></div> </div> </div> </BLOCKQUOTE></div> <br> <BR clear=all><br> -- <br> <br> phone 514-750-4522<br> cel 514-569-4414<br> <br> Piano Perfecto<br> 5932 rue Viau<br> Montreal Qc Canada H1T 2Y4<br> <br> Piano Shop <br> 17 Ronald Drive<br> Montreal West, Qc<br> Canada H4X 1M9 <br> <br> <br> <br> </div> </div> <div id='MAILCIAMA046-5bbd48f6490a224' class='aol_ad_footer'><BR/><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"></HR>McCain or Obama? 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