<!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 6.00.2900.2180" name=GENERATOR> <STYLE></STYLE> </HEAD> <BODY bgColor=#ffffff> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Hi Stephane,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Where I work, we usually refelt the old = moldings on very old pianos, say between 1900 and 1930.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>It is often better to keep the old = moldings because some manufacturers used very specific moldings that are not = being produced anymore (for example, Erard grand moldings, or other french instruments).</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>You cannot always find the proper shape = of molding.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>For younger instruments (say, after = 1950), we change the original hammer heads with new Renner ones with Wurzen felt.</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>About the underfelt, I asked Andre = about this, and here is what he answered: "<FONT face="Times New Roman" = size=3>Underfelt is a protection for the extreme crease or fold in the outer felt layer during = the pressing. If the molding is sharp, the felt layer(s) will get damaged = during the pressing.<BR>Underfelt also adds more mass to the hammer, so you don't = need such a thick outer felt layer.<BR>All in all, a hammer with underfelt is a = more balanced hammer."</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" size=3></FONT></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2><FONT face="Times New Roman" = size=3>that is a clear answer !</FONT></FONT></DIV> <DIV> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Bye,</FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2></FONT> </DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial size=2>Quentin</FONT><FONT></DIV> <DIV><FONT face=Arial><BR><FONT = size=2></FONT></FONT></DIV></FONT></BODY></HTML>