On Jun 11, 2009, at 2:06 PM, Wolfley, Eric (wolfleel) wrote: > The official word I got from them and others there at the factory > including Kent Webb and Eric Schandall is that each set of hammers > is pre-soaked before installation in 3:1 lacquer/acetone. The whole > set is dipped for 30 seconds is what I was told. One little addendum: one of the reasons for this pre-soak was to get better results when cutting the hammers apart. This makes the felt stiffer for the cutter. Hence the hammers are cut much more evenly and straighter - and so it has seemed to my eye in looking at current production versus five years ago and more. Since the voicing guys were always dousing the whole set with 3:1 anyway, this seemed like a win win situation - saves them time as well. Also meant that all the pianos would have at least that consistent amount of lacquer as a basis. For those who hate lacquer, hey, that's another argument. This is one manufacturer deciding what to do to improve quality control in its own eyes and by its own measure. Personally, I think it was a good step. Regards, Fred Sturm University of New Mexico fssturm at unm.edu
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