Hi Lance, Lance Lafargue wrote: > > Michael, > 1)Is Palida the stone-like material used to rub rust off with? Yes, that's it. Cleaning the rust should add a few micronewtons of tone and brightness. > 2)How deep is deep on the needling? Where? Can't I ruin the hammer Ed Foote did a good job of describing it. It should go about all the way to the wood. You can also try entering the hammer at the 10 and 2:00 positions. The idea is to release inner compression felt which expands the hammer (in some cases you can actually see a hammer grow). This puts outer felt under more tension for a brighter tone and also adds "spring" to the hammer. The analogy I have seen given is that "a hammer should be like a basketball with "give and spring" as opposed to a hard baseball. A basketball when it strikes a gym floor makes a nice loud resounding "Boom". A baseball makes an obnoxious and weaker sound" I'm not sure who came up with this, but I know there are several excellent Journal articles over the last decade. Check Authors like Jack Krefting, Airy (spelling) Issac, Bob Davis, Matt Grossman etc on voicing. I have seen some people deep needle through the sides of the hammer below and inside the shoulders. After this, you will need to relevel the hammer. Another technique is making a small nitch in the hammer head moulding just above the shank equally on both sides. I have seen all of these ideas both work and not work in increasing tone and sustain. Use in moderation, as overdoing it will turn the hammer into a worthless ball of fluff, but they may be each good for a few micronewtons of tone. Another thing to check is to compare the amount of felt above the moulding on the weak notes to see if it is more than the brighter ones. Simply filing the hammer down will correct this. Again don't go too far as you'll end up with a small hammer that overcenters and doesn't check high enough for good repetition (i.e a host of regulation problems and a tone like a baseball) Been there-Done that! Hardening is a better way to go in that case. Point here is that all these things can be useful if done in moderation, and a few might only give you a nannonewton of tone. Good Luck Mike Jorgensen RPT
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