<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//W3C//DTD HTML 4.0 Transitional//EN"> <HTML><HEAD> <META http-equiv=Content-Type content="text/html; = charset=iso-8859-1"> <META content="MSHTML 6.00.2900.2668" = name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff background="" scroll=yes ORGYPOS="0"> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi all,<BR><BR>Robin originally wrote,<BR><BR>>If you look at a Papps wedge closely it would take = some fine wood working  skills to duplicate one. Maybe one of our expert = sound board makers could make a few. <BR><BR>... which was a challenge I couldn't = well pass up!  ;-)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Ladies and gentlemen, I give to you my = redesign of the Papps mute, designed especially for grand piano usage (doesn't fall = over, even on the lowest trichords).  It is precision crafted from the = finest hardwood, engineered to exacting specifications and sturdy enough to be = handed down through generations to come.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT><IMG alt="" hspace=0 src="cid:018201c5811a$b07c5c00$0202a8c0@SarahDell4600" = align=baseline border=0></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Its simple, but elegant design enables = the skilled artisan to clamp the outer two strings of a trichord very quickly and = with ease.  The felt pieces attached to the side press firmly against = the adjacent strings, damping against them with the same effectiveness as = two rubber wedge mutes inserted in the same positions.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Only $15.  Now taking = orders.  Operators standing by!  <grin></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Seriously, it takes only a minute or = two to make one:  Take it apart, and weaken the spring a bit.  = File/sand down the wood on the inside tip, tapering it to a broad point.  With a = small triangular file, file a notch on each side.  Reassemble.  Glue = felt to the sides.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Of course as effective as this little = beauty is, I think it's something only an amateur can use, because the professionals = have to *look*, er...  "professional."  (I wonder if there's some way = to dress it up so that it doesn't look like a clothes pin (which it is = NOT!!).  Perhaps a piece of unshrunk heat sink tubing around the tell-tale spring = area?</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>All in fun!  (But it really does = work -- quite well, in fact.)</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Peace,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Sarah</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV></BODY></HTML>