<div> <font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">David:<br> <br> Would not another reason to keep the staple be that the underside surface of felt that is glued will most likely remain glued (barring abuse), and the thicknesses of felt above that surface will stretch toward the strike as the felt is compressed around the wood core, as well as slippage over time after compression? Or is that what you are saying when you use the phrase, "...the staple does pla</font><font face="Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif">y a role in maintaining the overall tension in the felt..."?<br> <br> Other than nominal hammer weight control, I have never felt compelled to remove the staple, and I have never quite bought the idea that it was there to keep the glue joint from failing.<br> <br> Paul<br> </font></div> <div> <br> </div> <div> <br> </div> -----Original Message-----<br> From: David Love <davidlovepianos@comcast.net><br> To: 'Pianotech List' <pianotech@ptg.org><br> Sent: Mon, 27 Oct 2008 9:50 pm<br> Subject: Role of the Staple on a hammer<br> <br> <div id="AOLMsgPart_0_21a5db2f-46d5-44f7-8ecf-9a75566fbdca" style="margin: 0px; font-family: Tahoma,Verdana,Arial,Sans-Serif; font-size: 12px; color: rgb(0, 0, 0); background-color: rgb(255, 255, 255);"> <pre style="font-size: 9pt;"><tt>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> <a href="mailto:davidlovepianos@comcast.net">davidlovepianos@comcast.net</a> <br> <a href="http://www.davidlovepianos.com" target="_blank">www.davidlovepianos.com</a><br> <br> <br> <br> </tt></pre> </div>  <div id='MAILCIAMB037-92b6490690e313f' class='aol_ad_footer'><BR/><FONT style="color: black; font: normal 10pt ARIAL, SAN-SERIF;"><HR style="MARGIN-TOP: 10px"></HR>McCain or Obama? Stay updated on coverage of the Presidential race while you browse - <a href="http://pr.atwola.com/promoclk/100000075x1211139166x1200680084/aol?redir=http://toolbar.aol.com/elections/download.html?ncid=emlweusdown00000002">Download Now!</a></FONT> </div>