<!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 5.50.4522.1800" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT size=2>Well I have periodically pulled staples on various = hammers for various reasons--some already cited.  I have never noticed any = problems either.  But when I brought this up in a discussion regarding Abel = hammers, I was informed that I had destroyed the hammer by doing so.  = Renner, in fact, does not use staples anymore.  The Steinway staple often = needs to be pulled in order to trim the felt that tends to get bulky in the lower = part of the hammer.  But since the Steinway hammer is not a tensioned = hammer anyway, it does not seem to be an issue.  The feedback I am getting = so far seems to confirm my own experience.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT size=2></FONT> </DIV><FONT size=2> <DIV><BR>David Love</DIV> <DIV></FONT> </DIV> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial">----- Original Message ----- </DIV> <DIV style="BACKGROUND: #e4e4e4; FONT: 10pt arial; font-color: = black"><B>From:</B> <A title=Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no href="mailto:Richard.Brekne@grieg.uib.no">Richard Brekne</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> September 27, 2001 12:03 = AM</DIV> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt arial"><B>Subject:</B> Re: Tensioned hammers = and "the staple"</DIV> <DIV><BR></DIV>I have heard talk of both Renner and Able proposing to = make hammers without any staples at all, seem to remember hearing that one = of those two factories are already doing so. <P>I think one thing to keep in mind is the element of how critical = any effect the staple might have is. Is any difference caused by pulling them out = such that it presents any real problem or not ?? <P>David Love wrote: <BLOCKQUOTE TYPE="CITE"> <FONT size=-1>Yes, that represents = one side of the discussion.  But the other side seems to disagree with that = analysis as to its function.</FONT> <FONT size=-1>David = Love</FONT> <BLOCKQUOTE dir=ltr style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"><FONT size=-1>David,</FONT><FONT size=-1>According to Wally Brooks, = Brooks LTD, the staple acts as a "girdle", helping to keep pressure pushing upwards.  His source of information comes straight from Abel.</FONT><FONT size=-1>Tom Servinsky,RPT</FONT> <BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-RIGHT: 0px; PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; = BORDER-LEFT: #000000 2px solid; MARGIN-RIGHT: 0px"> <DIV style="FONT: 10pt = arial">-</DIV></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE></BLOCKQUOTE>-- <BR>Richard Brekne <BR>RPT, N.P.T.F. <BR>Bergen, Norway <BR><A href="mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no">mailto:rbrekne@broadpark.no</A> = <BR>  </BLOCKQUOTE></BODY></HTML>