new Steinway hammers (was Flexible collodion...)

[A440A@aol.com]

Newton writes;
> One explanation I got was that lacquer was weather resistant,
>the hammers don't change from one season to the next.  Maybe so but
>lacquer takes weeks and months to get it's permanent hardness. 

Greetings, 
      I have used lacquer and seen the tone change from season to season, 
also.  The hammers sound softer in the damp weather, and brighter in the dry 
heat middle of winter.  However, I notice this same phenom with hammers that 
have no lacquer in them, so I have always laid it to the behaviour of felt.  
    As far as the lacquer taking so long to achieve its final hardness, I 
must question, (albeit gingerly, since Newton is sitting on BUSHELS of 
experience!(:)}}) how much that "seasoning" affects the tone. So, in 
approaching that question,  I submit the following for consideration. 
    The effect on tone that comes from lacquer can be traced in two ways.  
Lacquer is basically "gluing" the fibers together, preventing their movement. 
 In the shoulder, lacquer limits how far the hammer can deform on contact, 
concentrating the impact deformation in the hammer's crown to molding area, 
(the area of compression). (IME) the difference in this "gluing" between a 
day or a week's drying time will not be so great. Indeed, I have soaked just 
the shoulders of new Steinway hammers with a 3:1 mix, and the following day 
noticed an increase in power that didn't seem to change much after that.  
   The use of lacquer up near the strike point is something else.  When I 
have done that,(country recording studios with deaf producers guiding the 
sound),  the day after is certainly brighter, but a week later, even more so. 
If I juice it so that it sounds perfect the next day,  the following week it 
will have a ping!   I ascribe this to the lacquer continuing to change the 
resilience of the compressed area.  Heavy play will exacerbate this problem 
very quickly.  
   So, it seems to me that the shoulder juicing doesn't seem to change after 
a day, but when the lacquer is under the strike point,  it gets harder and har
der sounding, even if not played in the interim.  
Others? 
Regards, 
Ed Foote
 (who just loves the smell of lacquer,  in fact, it sorta smells like money 
to me!)