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<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>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 size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<p class=MsoNormal><font size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'>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 size=2 color=navy face=Arial><span style='font-size:
10.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:navy'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<p><font size=2 color=navy face="Times New Roman"><span style='font-size:10.0pt;
color:navy'>David Love<br>
davidlovepianos@comcast.net<br>
www.davidlovepianos.com</span></font><font color=navy><span style='color:navy'>
</span></font></p>
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<p class=MsoNormal style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=2 face=Tahoma><span
style='font-size:10.0pt;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:.5in'><font size=3 face="Times New Roman"><span
style='font-size:12.0pt'> </span></font></p>
<div>
<div>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Hi David,</span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>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:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>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:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>Barbara Richmond, RPT</span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'>near Peoria, IL</span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-left:.5in'><font size=3 color=black face=Arial><span
style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;color:black'> </span></font></p>
<p style='margin-right:0in;margin-bottom:12.0pt;margin-left:.5in'><font size=3
color=black face=Arial><span style='font-size:12.0pt;font-family:Arial;
color:black'>----- 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>
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