hammer realignment

[Wimblees@AOL.COM]

In a message dated 98-11-19 00:16:46 EST, you write:

<< Is there any trick of the trade when realigning hammers after a hammer 
 shank breaks?  I recently fixed a broken hammer shank, eyeballed the 
 alignment, glued the two parts back together and what do you know, the 
 hammer was only hitting the left two unisons instead of all three.  A 
 blow to my self-esteem.  Also, the piano had brass flanges.
 
 Is this a hit and miss situation?
  >>


When you glue on a hammer, the glue takes a while to settle. In the process,
the moisture in the glue will distort the grain of the wood, which will cause
the hammer to bend one way or another. Since this is imposible to predict, all
you can do is glue it on straight, and wait for the glue to dry. Once it is
dry, heat the shank and glue, and realign the hammer. 

Willem Blees