Student Question - Read only if in magnanamous mood.

[John Wehlitz]

9-13-95

Hello,

I am taking the Randy Potter course in Piano Technology and am about to get
into much needed hammer shaping and regulating on my own piano. I e-mailed
this question to Randy about a week ago and haven't heard from him - he's
probably out of town or swamped with work. Consequently I decided to don
fireproof pants (in case of "flames") and post my "student question" here
among the scientific treatises.

Before I try to regulate my piano, I undoubtedly should shape the hammers. I
understand that getting rid of the grooves in the hammers is not the primary
reason for shaping, and that it is not essential to completely eradicate the
grooves. I'm not sure that the grooves in the hammers are deep enough for
this to be a problem, but I want to be sure that I'm clear on this. If there
are still grooves when I finish shaping, can I still space the strings or do
I need to leave them spaced as they are so that they will still match up
with the grooves? If the strings can't be spaced, then I suppose that the
hammers can't be spaced either. My impression is that the strings and
hammers can still be spaced, but I want to make sure before I act on that
impression.

I am an associate member of the Portland, Oregon chapter of the PTG. Well, I
will be if the home office ever processes the paperwork.

Thanks for your help.

John Wehlitz
Hillsboro, Oregon
jwehlitz@ix.netcom.com