<HTML><FONT FACE=arial,helvetica><FONT SIZE=2>We were fortunateto become friends with Seigfred Hoffman, Director of
<BR>manufacturing for Renner Co. in Germany. We had been unhappy with the great
<BR>amount of glue being used between the underfelt & the top felt in their
<BR>Hammer. This glue did in effect decrease the amount of felt that was usable
<BR>as a tone producer on the Hammer & decreased the dynamic range , plus caused
<BR>"hard" sound on a forte blow. We sent him samples of Hammers that were made
<BR>many years ago that did not have any glue between the under felt & the top
<BR>felt,
<BR>Barely a 1/4" directly on top of the center of the Molding. He surprised us
<BR>by saying, "that is the way we made Hammers, years ago". & so they no longer
<BR>have glue at that location. The other problem wefee is that some of the
<BR>Hammer
<BR>sets are being hot-pressed too hard & it is killing the resiliency of the
<BR>wool. After
<BR>all the reason that wool works well on a piano Hammer is because of the
<BR>ability
<BR>to bounce away from the String. Try holding some Hammers from a height &
<BR>dropping them on a hard surface & you will finf that some kinds will bounce
<BR>better than others. The other most important requirement of Hammers is that
<BR>they
<BR>wear well under sustained use & I think you will find that not all of them do
<BR>wear
<BR>well. I wish that they did not bleach the wool, but, we can't have
<BR>everything! I will
<BR>give a report on the Ronsen Hammers. They are good people & come from a long
<BR>period of time in the Hammer making industry.
<BR>We have sizeable backlog of signed contracts on hand & all of it is with
<BR>private
<BR>customers. They are all complete remanufacturing jobs, with no "cut corners".
<BR>Takes a long time to get "there". This piano Tech List is wonderful!. Yes,
<BR>it is
<BR>having "growing pains" but it is very helpful & keeps us in touch with each
<BR>other.
<BR>As for "having fun", I can't wait to get up in the morning & get my hands on
<BR>somebody's piano, because I know that it will be better after we are done.
<BR>Just
<BR>think of this: The customer invites us into their home, treats us with
<BR>respect, allows us to do what we enjoy (work on the piano) & then when we are
<BR>finished, they PAY US!!. What a system. I will try later to write some info
<BR>about Piano
<BR>Plate suspension system (Baldwin), as I was responsible for the granting of a
<BR>royalty free use of their system to RPT's in their rebuilding. More
<BR>later-Will</FONT></HTML>