This is a multi-part message in MIME format. ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment If you mean that the staple is important in high humidity areas to = ensure the hammer doesn't come apart, I'm not sure I agree. My = experience is that if the glue joint fails, no staple will hold it = together. =20 As far as the hammer experiencing changes in tension, I must admit that = living in an environment with fairly constant humidity year round (and a = bit on the high side), I've never thought about tension in the hammer = changing from season to season and with it the tone. On the surface it = makes sense. I wonder though whether the change is enough to create a = real perceptible difference, or if it does, how you would separate that = change from tonal changes that might occur as a result of changes in the = crown of the board. Difficult to tease out all the variables. =20 The other question, however, still remains. How important is the staple = for creating tension in the lower part of the hammer. The proponents of = the Renner blue evidently feel that it is unimportant. I know from = listening to Brooks and the Abel clan that they feel it is a crucial = part of the hammer. Isaac O's remarks suggest that the stapled Renner = is a different animal than the Renner blue in spite of the similarities = in felt type. I have to say that my experience suggests that the Renner = blue has a high degree of tension in the felt which is responsive to = needling. The Renner hammer used for H. Steinway is also highly = tensioned, and much harder at the outset. My experience tells me that = the needling requirements to get the H. Steinway hammer to open up are = just that much greater. But when all is said and done, is what you have = left all that much different? I haven't really done a side by side = comparison. Maybe somebody out there has. I'd be interested to hear = what they think.=20 One interesting sidebar to this is that I have found out the hard way = that you need to be careful when (if) preneedling the Abel hammer. It = is very easy to release a tremendous amount of tension into the crown of = the hammer which can make the hammer very bright and difficult to work = with. Whereas I almost always preneedle Renner hammers feeling for = some give in the shoulders with a firm squeeze as I go, I find that a = slower approach is more advisable with Abel hammers. =20 David Love ----- Original Message -----=20 From: Tony Caught=20 To: Pianotech=20 Sent: September 21, 2002 7:43 PM Subject: Re: hammer felt (Renner Blues) Dave, You wrote The importance of the staple is somewhat controversial. There are = those who argue that it adds tension to the lower part of the hammer and = those who say it doesn't make any difference. The Renner blue is, of = course, without a staple. =20 Not having a staple would mean that you cannot use this hammer in high = humidity conditions. However, As the hammer absorbs moisture from the air, the tension created = varies greatly as does the tone. Possibly being not stapled would allow = this increase of tension to spread more evenly over the hammer and not = be restricted by the staple. Tony Caught caute@optusnet.com.au ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/f8/6a/d9/a6/attachment.htm ---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--
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