No needling here: to steam, or not to steam: the follow-up

[Piannaman@aol.com]

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
Greetings,

Forgive me if this is a repeat, but I didn't see it show up in my mailbox.

I went to check out the M and H in question yesterday, and I got a surprise 
when I looked to see what was happening with the hammers.  I expected ancient, 
worn things with little usable felt left. What I found was hammers less than 
ten years old with substantial meat left on the bones.  

I mentioned that an acetone bath was recommended by some, and the owner said 
that she thought that the previous tech had used an acetone-mixed-with- 
"something else"-solution to liven up the hammers. 

The sound throughout was overly percussive and metallic.  I got out the 
voicing tool(fully expecting to break needles), pulled the action, found one of the 
nastiest sounding hammers, and gave it a couple of probes.  There was plenty 
of compliance under the needle.  I softened up the shoulders, then lightly 
sugar-coated the crown.  Re-inserted the action, and the "ping" on F# 3 was gone! 
 

The next 2 hours were spent poking hammers. It was really pre-voicing, then 
dotting the stike points. The crowns were almost crusty.  I pictured surface 
snow on a spring morning.  Whatever hardener was used ended up right on the 
surface, I assume.  

When I was done with the initial stab-fest, the entire character of the piano 
had changed.  I did some touch up to even things a bit, though it was still 
less than perfect before I ran out of time.  Nonetheless, it was enjoyable to 
play again, and the owner was thrilled to have her "old piano" back.  

So it was a happy ending, and I was pleased to not have to resort to chemical 
warfare.  The only one not thrilled by the whole deal was my right arm, which 
was extremely tired from using my little generic voicing tool--a boy doing a 
man's work, one might say.  Recommendations for a good voicing tool, please??  
 Renner's seems like a very sturdy and practical instrument.

Thanks again for all of the input, folks!  It's been a very instructive few 
days.

Dave Stahl

In a message dated 4/20/04 8:03:52 PM Pacific Daylight Time, 
Piannaman@aol.com writes:


> Voicers, steamers, needlers, what have you, 
> 
> I have recently done a small amount of work installing short lid props for a 
> woman who has two pianos, a Steinway M, and a Mason A.  When I was there, 
> she complained about the tone of the M and H, saying that the last tuner 
> applied something to the hammers, and it hasn't been her sweet old piano since. 
> 
> I tried the instrument, and sure enough, it sounded like bricks hitting tin 
> cans.  I told her that if she was dissatisfied with it, she should call the 
> person who juiced it and have her voice it down.  She did, and lots of 
> needling didn't do the trick. 
> 
> When I was there last, I'd mentioned that I heard steam voicing yielded good 
> results, but I wasn't sure how it would work on over-lacquered hammers.  And 
> I've never tried the technique myself, though many on this list have sung 
> its praises.   
> 
> She is at wit's end, and wants her old M and H tone back.  I said I'd come 
> and check the piano out, and look into the possibility of steaming the 
> hammers.  I'm not certain how old the hammers are, but if something doesn't help 
> them out soon, replacement will be in the cards(probably not a bad thing, except 
> financially...:-(). 
> 
> Questions: How well does this technique work on over-lacquered hammers?  Can 
> someone describe the best way to go about it?  I've heard damp-cloth/dry 
> iron works well. 
> 
> Maybe I should try side-needling....:-) 
> 
> Thanks for any input.  I'll be scoping the piano out on Thursday. 
> 
> Dave Stahl 
> 


---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment
An HTML attachment was scrubbed...
URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/pianotech.php/attachments/14/a0/a1/2b/attachment.htm

---------------------- multipart/alternative attachment--