> > Wed, 28 Jul 2010 Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote: > > > I'm trying to get at the basic principles here, along the same lines > as hard and flexible collodion. My guess is that flexible collodion > would behave differently than sanding sealer, but it is a guess > without any practical experience to back it up. > Then "Ed Sutton" <ed440 at mindspring.com> wrote: > > Do we know that traditional use calls for flexible or simple collodion? > > When we add juices to hammers, are we trying to bind or cement the wool fibers together, or are we trying to size and stiffen the individual fibers? I tend to think we are sizing and stiffening the fibers, using very thin solutions which partially penetrate and coat the fibers. Is this better done by something stiff or flexible, or does it matter? > > > And then Fred Sturm <fssturm at unm.edu> wrote: > While I have heard people talk about using collodion, usually thinned > with ether, I am not at all clear whether they meant stiff or > flexible. I think it likely they meant stiff, in which case it is > simply the same thing (essentially) as lacquer with acetone (to speed > drying, like ether would do). > Ed, Fred, I thoroughly researched this in the PTG e-mail list archives and have gotten some private correspondence from someone with extensive experience using collodion , and both sources specify collodion U.S.P - which is flexible - or "flexible collodion". My private source concurs that rigid collodion is not a good choice - it would essentially do the same thing as lacquer. My theory is that the fundamental difference between the NY Steinway hammer (which is not made to be springy) and the European style "springy" hammer is what makes lacquer - or any other stiffener - appropriate for voicing them, but not appropriate for the European style hammers. You don't want to make the springy European style hammer fibers completely stiff, because this spring-like quality makes a major contribution to the tone. Filling them with a rigid hardener - like lacquer or rigid collodion - makes them less springy. I think, rather, that the flexible collodion binds the fibers together while maintaining this flexibility. Just my theory to explain the empirical observations of my sources. Israel Stein
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC