Hammer Softener

Bill Ballard yardbird@sover.net
Sun, 09 Mar 1997 00:12:41 -0500 (EST)


Michel Lachance <chance@InterLinx.qc.ca> rote:
<<Pianophile (Montr=E9al) sells a hammer softener that has some=20
efficiency.  The solution looks to me as being a mixture of water and=20
alcohol.  Does anyone know the receipe?>>

David Stanwood was talking about this back in '90. The Alc breaks the=20
surface tension of the water so that the water can enter the wool and=20
swell the fiber matting. The Pianophile recipe is probably nothing more=20
than water and alc (with a dash of olive oil for happy hour).
The proportion? Do this the same way you would in lacquering hammers. Let=
=20
your experience tell you how much the tone needs to be moved, pick a=20
sample hammer, and test a trial mixture to see if it can make the change=20
in one dose. If you fall short or long of the mark, adjust the mixture=20
accordingly before doing the rest of the hammers in the section. I never=20
got "heavier" than 4:1, water :alc. I always let the hammer felt dry=20
overnight. BTW, raise the temperature of the water to vapor level, and=20
the hammers will be dry within minutes.




Bill Ballard RPT
NH Chapter

"The truth is inside you, Don Octavio. I cannot help you find that." The=20
mother of a delusional patient to his psychiatrist in "Don Juan DeMarco"




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