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<DIV> <FONT size=3> <STRONG>Andre=
</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> I agree with the reasoning of =
what youre' saying but The Ronsen hammer on mahogony moldings can be tapered=
,arced & coved to be esentially the same weight as the original Steinway=
hammers. I've done it many times & the sound is good.</STRONG></FO=
NT></DIV>
<DIV><FONT size=3><STRONG> In fact Ray Negron at R=
onsen said recently that John Patton of Steinway said that Ray's hammers are=
as close to the originals as any thing made today both in weight & dens=
ity. Quite a compliment. I use primarily his hammer that uses the felt he bu=
ys from Abel.</STRONG></FONT></DIV>
<DIV><STRONG><FONT size=3> Regard--Dale</FONT></STRONG></DIV>
<BLOCKQUOTE style="PADDING-LEFT: 5px; MARGIN-LEFT: 5px; BORDER-LEFT: blue =
2px solid"><FONT face=Arial>Yes but the immediate problem you get is when =
you replace the original <BR>hammers as well, because in this case the weigh=
t of the hammers is very <BR>crucial.<BR>It means getting a new hammer that =
weighs exactly as much as the <BR>original.<BR><STRONG><U>There is no hammer=
maker who produces exactly that hammer,</U></STRONG> so you have <BR>to mod=
ify a new set of hammers and you have to almost ruin that new set <BR>of ham=
mers to get back to the original weight.<BR>I have seen many attempts to do =
so and they all looked ridiculous, the <BR>tails were still too long and in =
the end they were still too heavy <BR>anyway because the materials used nowa=
days are different and weigh more <BR>than the original hammers of which for=
instance the original felt was <BR>much less dense than VFG felt Abel uses.=
<BR>More lead in the keys will complete the usual and well known <BR>catastr=
ophe.<BR><BR>My 2 Euro cents<BR><BR>André Oorebeek</FONT></BLOCKQUOTE></DI=
V>
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