<html><head><style type='text/css'>p { margin: 0; }</style></head><body><div style='font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000'><style>p { margin: 0; }</style><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000"><style>p { margin: 0; }</style><div style="font-family: Arial; font-size: 12pt; color: #000000">Hey, where's David Love during this discussion?<br><br>Taking felt off of bulbous hammers at the staple and below can make a big difference.  Actually, it seems like felt removal makes more of a difference than I ever think it should. <br><br>What is the knuckle mounting distance on those shanks?  It makes a big difference.  The DW on one piano I worked on went down by 8 grams (if i remember correctly--maybe it was six, but I'm pretty sure it was 8) when we changed from 15mm to 17mm.  <br><br>I don't know the details about the history/progression of hammer weights used by Steinway but paring a hammer down to match the original leading could be dicey--the leading might not be ideal to begin with--it happens, even on Steinways, and paring hammer weight down too much can rob the piano of power/tone.<br><br>One needs to look at the whole picture.  Easy for me to say--I usually zero in on what I think the problem is and find out that I'm mistaken.  :-)<br><br>Barbara Richmond, RPT<br>near Peoria, Illinois<br><br><br><hr id="zwchr"><b>From: </b>"Douglas Gregg" <classicpianodoc@gmail.com><br><b>To: </b>pianotech@ptg.org<br><b>Sent: </b>Thursday, September 8, 2011 8:35:56 PM<br><b>Subject: </b>Re: [pianotech] Baldwin grand repetition spings<br><br>Laura,<br>A couple years ago when working of that 70's S&S model O. I considered<br>cutting off as much excess wood and felt from the hammers as possible<br>to reduce the DW by 10-12 grams.<br><br>I took an extra new hammer (left over from a set) and weighed it on a<br>good digital gram scale and then started cutting as much off of the<br>hammer head as I could. I ended up getting little more than a gram off<br>of it and I questioned the soundness of the remaining hammer. I<br>thinned and tapered the tail and even tried drilling the wood core. I<br>did not think it feasible to thin down the shank much. It would<br>certainly not get me a gram of shavings IMO. It would also be farther<br>from the head and be less effective.  I gave up on this approach. I<br>think it would be less work and expense to buy a lighter set of<br>hammers and hang them.<br><br>I am curious how much you have been able to remove and where.<br><br>Doug Gregg<br>Classic Piano Doc<br></div></div></div></body></html>