<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META content="text/html; charset=ISO-8859-1" http-equiv=content-type> <META name=GENERATOR content="MSHTML 8.00.6001.19019"> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff text=#000000> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>David, </FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Did you remove the hammers and place them in groups in a vise to dress the hammers, or do them in situ?</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>On this 1883 Bechstein I used French chalk to whiten the hammer surfaces and then vigorous brushing with a nailbrush.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><IMG border=0 hspace=0 alt="" align=baseline src="cid:4CEC83938FCE44019F42EE77C5EFC5F4@Aspire"></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>That action by the way is one of those ghastly Schwander French Crank (Molyneux) actions. Instead of a Dremel I made my own hammer filing tool using an empty cotton reel bobbin and Black & Decker cordless screwdriver.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><IMG border=0 hspace=0 alt="" align=baseline src="cid:4C5F3240E901431283FC5A6C389E27FE@Aspire"></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><IMG border=0 hspace=0 alt="" align=baseline src="cid:17F13866C249486896486DAE65E052ED@Aspire"></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>The stringing on the piano was original and I used the same tool but with steel wool attached to the bobbin to clean the bass strings. It really brought them back to life, more from the vibration than anything else.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>Still a crap piano though.</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial></FONT></STRONG> </DIV> <DIV><STRONG><FONT size=2 face=Arial>AF</FONT></STRONG></DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial; BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; font-color: black"><B>From:</B> <A title=David@piano.plus.com href="mailto:David@piano.plus.com">David Boyce</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>To:</B> <A title=pianotech@ptg.org href="mailto:pianotech@ptg.org">pianotech@ptg.org</A> </DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Sent:</B> Sunday, March 13, 2011 1:24 AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> [pianotech] Cosmetic aspects of filed hammers</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV><FONT face=Arial>Yesterday I tried hammer filing using a small Dremel-type tool for the first time. Hitherto, I've always used home-made sanding paddles.  <BR><BR>I've been meaning to ask for a while,  what others do, if anything, to improve the appearance cosmetically when the top surface of the hammers is very grubby. I found yesterday that the dremel tool was quite good for that.  <BR><BR>I am attaching two pairs of before-and-after pics. One from hand filing, and yesterday's with the little drill.  The angle of the photos makes it look as if all trace of grooves was removed, but actually that's not the case. Plus, the photos seem to exaggerate small unevenesses!<BR><BR>I have read in the past, of using dressmakers' chalk to brighten grubby hammer topsides, but that seems a laborious process and somehow slightly distasteful.<BR><BR>Best regards,<BR><BR>David Boyce<BR></BLOCKQUOTE></FONT></BODY></HTML>