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<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>As a former Sohmer dealer we would soak a Sohmer
hammer (unstapled)with shank in a pint of water next to a competators stapled
hammer in water. The result, Resorsonal (spelling) glue held for the Sohmer, and
the other failed. Conclusion, the two jars always left marks on the
salespersons desk.</FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Carlos Ralon, RPT</FONT></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr
style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px">
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV>
<DIV
style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: black"><B>From:</B>
<A title=davidlovepianos@comcast.net
href="mailto:davidlovepianos@comcast.net">David Love</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org
href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">'Pianotech List'</A> </DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Tuesday, October 28, 2008 10:25
AM</DIV>
<DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> RE: Role of the Staple on a
hammer</DIV>
<DIV><BR></DIV>
<DIV class=Section1>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">As I mentioned, I
don’t think that the staple necessarily holds the felt to the molding.
The glue itself is adequate for that. I’ve not seen glue joint failure
on hammers with staples pulled and I have seen it on hammer with staples still
in place. I think the integrity of the hammer that Brooks refers to is
the tension in the felt. Over time I have noticed that the staple tends
to become more embedded suggesting that the felt expands or wants to release
tension in that part of the hammer. On heavily lacquered hammers the
felt is bound together by the lacquer and the hammer is not really a tensioned
hammer anymore and this progression won’t happen. Thus, with Steinway
style hammers that are heavily lacquered I don’t think the staple plays a role
this way. Moreover, with the staple removed it is probably a good idea
to apply a heavy dose of lacquer to the lower shoulder down in the area where
the staple normally resides (Terry). Don’t let it creep under the crown
where it can influence the tone but it’s probably a good idea to bind the felt
in that region if it has no other support. That will remove one’s
ability to purposefully release tension from that area by needling which can
serve to actually strengthen the crown of the hammer but it’s probably a
worthwhile tradeoff. </SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">One other question is
just how substantial does the staple need to be to hold the tension in the
manner described. Staples come in all sizes and I wonder how heavy the
gauge needs to be to do the job. Abel and Renner staples are quite
heavy. Steinway staples are not but considering the role of the staple
in a Steinway hammer it probably doesn’t matter.</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal><FONT face=Arial color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<DIV>
<P><FONT face="Times New Roman" color=navy size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; COLOR: navy">David
Love<BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net<BR>www.davidlovepianos.com</SPAN></FONT><FONT
color=navy><SPAN style="COLOR: navy"> </SPAN></FONT></P></DIV>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Tahoma size=2><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 10pt; FONT-FAMILY: Tahoma">-----Original
Message-----<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">From:</SPAN></B>
pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] <B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">On Behalf Of </SPAN></B>Barbara Richmond<BR><B><SPAN
style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Sent:</SPAN></B> Monday, October 27, 2008 9:17
PM<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">To:</SPAN></B> Pianotech
List<BR><B><SPAN style="FONT-WEIGHT: bold">Subject:</SPAN></B> Re: Role of the
Staple on a hammer</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face="Times New Roman"
size=3><SPAN style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<DIV>
<DIV>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Hi
David,</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">I've taken staples
out--only because other people told me I could...and well, I believed
them. :-) At the CERS this fall, Wally Brooks told a fellow
that the integrity of the hammers was destroyed (can't remember his
exact words, but he got pretty excited about it) when folks remove
staples to control hammer weight. I figure Wally probably knows
something about hammers...</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Anyway, I'd be
interested if anyone had ever had a hammer spring open (some time, sooner or
later) after removing the staple. Guess I'll be crossing my
fingers about those staples I've removed in the past--though I think most of
them had a bunch of lacquer holding them together.
</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">Barbara Richmond,
RPT</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">near Peoria,
IL</SPAN></FONT></P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in"><FONT face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial"></SPAN></FONT> </P>
<P style="MARGIN-BOTTOM: 12pt; MARGIN-LEFT: 0.5in; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0in"><FONT
face=Arial color=black size=3><SPAN
style="FONT-SIZE: 12pt; COLOR: black; FONT-FAMILY: Arial">----- Original
Message -----<BR>From: "David Love" <davidlovepianos@comcast.net><BR>To:
"Pianotech List" <pianotech@ptg.org><BR>Sent: Monday, October 27, 2008
9:50:40 PM GMT -06:00 US/Canada Central<BR>Subject: Role of the Staple on a
hammer<BR><BR>An older subject but I've been meaning to comment on this.
A few things<BR>have been written about whether the staple is necessary
to secure the glue<BR>joint on a hammer. While I do agree that the glue
does most (if not all) of<BR>the work holding the felt to the molding, I think
the staple does play a<BR>role in maintaining the overall tension in the felt.
Hammers without<BR>staples must resort to reinforcers (which I have done
on occasion) or some<BR>application of heat to stabilize this region. I
think the use of heat to<BR>create stability has a potential downside in that
too much will simply<BR>remove tension from the felt rather than reinforce
this area in any<BR>particular way. For that reason, I'm not yet ready
to abandon the use of<BR>the staple.<BR> <BR>David
Love<BR>davidlovepianos@comcast.net
<BR>www.davidlovepianos.com<BR><BR><BR></SPAN></FONT></P></DIV></DIV></DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>