End of the line

[Michael Jorgensen]

Ed,
    My brother uses CA for hammers.  Want to get into some really hard
stuff?  Seriously evil!  Try pure unthinned Piano key cement from
APSCO.  Results in one hour, Big-time in five.  Be careful, only use
when all else fails to give you the high you need.  Don't let it soak
the striking point or it'll blow the hammer. (takes awhile to soak in,
go slow). The stuff stays slightly flexible though so that's one plus.
-Mike



A440A@AOL.COM wrote:
> 
> Greetings,
>    I have been seeing so many uses for the CA glue I never would have thought
> of.   It must be rubbing off, because now I am starting to voice with it.
>     The rebuild piano was a very nice 1919 Model O, and the first set of
> factory hammers I have used in a long time,( I have a Renner bias going these
> days).   It was somewhat odd to be building tone from the dark side  with
> hardener rather than working from harshness to fullness  with the needle, but
> with the latest tips from Candace Wilken, (the dealer's choice here in
> Nashville), and a little bag of white granules, the shop was soon full of
> fumes and  overtones.
>     The temptation is certainly there to "bring'em on up", and juice till
> there is that clarity and edge available on the moderate touch, but I
> resisted, having watched a number of new Steinways go from glorious tone to
> being harsh and hard in 6 months.  I always before, and still do, think the
> finest sound comes after the first 100 hours on hammers that were a little too
> soft for comfort in the beginning.
>     Everything came up as hoped for except the last two notes. Dead as Tuesday
> night, but the strings would sing under pluck!  The old hammer, worn near the
> core, would make them peal, but the new hammers, with four or five treatments
> over the week, went nowhere.  So, as I was contemplating replacing them, it
> occured to me to go all the way, and I gave their crowns four drops each of
> Gold Bond CA, ( Frank Weston swears by this stuff, I am starting to agree).
>     Wham, bam!  the next day the piano with the Golden crowns had two top
> notes that were as clear and defined as I have ever heard!!
>   This piano, btw, had a beautiful soundboard in it, one small crack, but
> plenty of crown and solid, round tone all the way through.  It was voiced
> fairly mellow when it went out, and the break was quite smooth.   The
> Sanderson strings helped with  a very nice bass, and the next one I do will
> get the newer scaling with the treble bichords,
> 
> I wouldn't go so far to put the CA glue on hammers farther down in the
> scale,(not at $332 a set, unbored!),  but for these two notes, it became
> obvious that nothing short of Hard would do.
> Regards,
> Ed Foote

mj