[CAUT] Steinway hammers with pre-voicing solution

[Joe And Penny Goss]

Hi Mark,
In recent classes I have heard S&S instructors mention that they are now
preLackering.
Joe Goss RPT
Mother Goose Tools
imatunr@srvinet.com
www.mothergoosetools.com
----- Original Message ----- 
From: "Mark Dierauf" <pianotech@nhpianos.com>
To: <caut@ptg.org>
Sent: Sunday, May 15, 2005 5:25 PM
Subject: [CAUT] Steinway hammers with pre-voicing solution


>
>   I just attended Eric Schandall's "Voicing the NY Hammer" class at the
> NE Regional and he sure didn't indicate that there was any
> pre-lacquering being done in the factory. He made a point of saying that
> the initial application must get plenty of lacquer way down near the tip
> of the molding, and that subsequent applications would NOT be able to
> accomplish this, which would suggest that they could not have been
> pre-lacquered. I did get a couple of sets back in about '02 that sure
> sounded as though they had already been lacquered, though. The procedure
> that he outlined was to hit the entire hammer (except for the extreme
> lower shoulder) with 1 to 3, then a second application if necessary that
> hit the same area except for the crown and the area below it. 3 drops of
> Keytop/Acetone (1 Pratt-Read keytop in 8 oz of acetone) right at the
> strike point is sometimes used in addition to the lacquer, if needed.
>
> - Mark Dierauf
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Fred Sturm [mailto:fssturm@unm.edu]
> Sent: Friday, May 13, 2005 3:06 PM
> To: College and University Technicians
> Subject: Re: [CAUT] Steinway hammers with pre-voicing solution
>
> On 5/12/05 8:31 PM, "Tim Geinert, R.P.T." <geinert@drtel.net> wrote:
>
> > At the factory, they have a template for each model's set of hammers,
> and
> > after the set is cut and preshaped, they are then lined up, and
> lacquered as
> > per the guide on the template.  As I recall, the entire set does not
> > necessarily get juiced, and each section that does get juiced is not
> > necessarily soaked, only as the template dictates, and its different
> for
> > each model.  All the hammers go through this step, the same as any
> step in
> > the process.  Their goal, as I understand it, is just to get the
> hammers
> > headed in the right direction, not make them hard.  I would expect
> them to
> > sound mellow, and they are, even with all of them receiving this
> pre-voicing
> > juicing.
> > Tim G.
>     I'm very curious as to the source of this information
> (templates/lacquering in the factory). Did you actually see this? If so,
> when? If not, who told you this was so?
>     I hung a new set last summer on a B. Dead as a doornail (or
> hyoer-mellow, depending how you want to describe it). I have two brand
> new
> sets in the shop right now, one installed, the other in the box. The
> pianos
> are out being strung, so I can't readily check tone quality, but I would
> swear they are virgin felt. No visual sign of lacquer. Though
> water-white
> can be hard to see, you can usually tell. They feel like un-doped felt.
> Stroking around the surface, the fibers are soft and yielding. Squeezing
> pressure feels quite soft and compressible. Feeling the corners, they
> have
> no sharp edges. I have felt and examined lots of lacquered hammers, and
> am
> pretty sure I would know the difference.
>     Everything I have ever heard from Eric Schandall, Kent Webb and John
> Patton has indicated that hammers sold by Steinway to technicians are
> un-lacquered. Eric clarifies by mentioning the dipping of the corners
> for
> gluing purposes, saying that's all the lacquer the factory puts in.
>     So I'm very puzzled when I hear different from various sources. Has
> anyone purchased and installed a set that were obviously bright and hard
> out
> of the box? Who precisely says that hammers from Steinway are
> pre-lacquered
> (or can be on request)?
>     I'm not meaning to be argumentative, just want to know hard facts,
> whatever they may be.
> Regards,
> Fred Sturm
> University of New Mexico
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
>
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