Ed asked: >Is it reasonable to expect to re-use the shanks, which are working >very well? Yes. >Shall I remove them from the kapsels to remove the hammerheads, then >replace them for hanging the new hammers, or make a separate jig for holding >them while hanging the hammers? Yes. You can remove hammer shanks at the axle easily with a modified engine valve tool...the sort that has tiny jaws that open outwards when you squeeze the handle. File them off flat. insert in the kapsel and open the jaws to remove the axle/shank. Modern kapsels (e.g. Laukhuff, Zucky etc.) are always made of half-hard brass, which is wrong - too stiff and not enuf spring to it, so you can't squeeze them enuf to get the right sort of grip on the dimples. Historical kapsels were made with lead-free brass, soft, but enuf to hold the axle, and springy enuf to grip it without a fight on your hands. Paul Poletti makes historical kapsels on a small-scale. >For a small 1870's piano, what is the likelihood that leather >covered hammers were original? Or more likely a repair to extend the life >of worn hammers? Sometime mid-century Viennese and German piano builders began to use felt covered hammers, but many retained a top layer of hammer leather till into the 20th century. You can usually tell by the quality of the leather if it is original. Unfortunately, there is no modern leather that is anything like historical hammer leather....at least not yet. That's another on-going research project, which is giving some promising results. As for the wire project, I'll report back when something practical becomes available. >Are Renner Viennese hammers the only choice? Don't know them. Do you mean hammer heads, or hammer shanks, or both? Since there is so much variatino i the geometry I would not expect any generic supply to be successful. They aren't difficult to make replacements. Stephen Stephen Birkett Fortepianos Authentic Reproductions of 18th and 19th Century Pianos 464 Winchester Drive Waterloo, Ontario Canada N2T 1K5 tel: 519-885-2228 mailto: sbirkett[at]real.uwaterloo.ca http://real.uwaterloo.ca/~sbirkett
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