Dremmels on hammers was RE: mini belt sander for filing hammers

[Porritt, David]

No, I don't use the Dremel for light filing.  It's probably been a
couple of years since I've used it at all.  It just is a nice tool if
you have some of those hammers that have such a bad shape that normal
filing would take an inordinate amount of time.

On the fitting hammers to strings......it depends.  I try hard to keep
strings level, and gang filing generally keeps hammer tops level so
there's not too much to do.  On practice room pianos you just have to
keep the hammers square and hope for the best.  Under those conditions,
I generally think of string mating as a self-correcting problem.  As the
hammer develops grooves if the fitting was really close, the newly
formed grooves conform to the strings.  If the fitting was not really
close, you can hear it immediately and correct that (then find out why
it wasn't really close.... like are the strings not level?).  On concert
instruments, faculty studios etc., yes, you have to check the fit but
it's usually pretty close.

dp

David M. Porritt
dporritt@smu.edu

-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
Behalf Of David Ilvedson
Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 6:27 PM
To: pianotech@ptg.org
Subject: RE: Dremmels on hammers was RE: mini belt sander for filing
hammers

David,

What is your criteria for filing?   When you file frequently do also fit
hammers/strings...maybe only on the concert instruments?   Do you find
you need to even out the voicing after a light filing or is the voicing
stable...?   Do you use the Dremmel for light filing or ?

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California


----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Porritt, David" <dporritt@mail.smu.edu>
To: tune4u@earthlink.net, Pianotech <pianotech@ptg.org>
Received: 10/11/2005 4:12:19 PM
Subject: RE: Dremmels on hammers was RE: mini belt sander for filing
hammers


>Alan:

>I've used a plug in - but variable speed - Dremel on hammers.  It is
>particularly nice for radical reshaping.  The secret is practice and
>non-aggressive sanding drum.  I've been known to wear the sand paper
out
>a little on a stone or something so it's not as aggressive.  I also
>recommend practicing on a set of hammers you're going to replace so
that
>if you do take a divot it's on a set you're going to throw away anyway.
>I use a strip of Emory cloth for final filing.  In my work at the
school
>now I try to file hammers frequently enough that I don't have to do
>radical shaping.

>dp

>David M. Porritt
>dporritt@smu.edu

>-----Original Message-----
>From: pianotech-bounces@ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces@ptg.org] On
>Behalf Of Alan Barnard
>Sent: Tuesday, October 11, 2005 12:12 PM
>To: dnereson@4dv.net, Pianotech
>Subject: Dremmels on hammers was RE: mini belt sander for filing
hammers

>David said: "I've never been able to control a sanding drum on a Dremel
>precisely enough to do a nice job -- it's too easy to take a big divot
>out
>of the hammer, the rpm's are too high, you can't get the bottom side of
>the
>hammers on vertical actions without removing all the damper levers, and
>it's extremely hard to take off just one layer of felt"

>You can use a Dremmel comfortably if you buy the battery powered one,
>the
>MiniMite. You can select down to 5,000 rpm and have a lot of control. I
>think I'd stick with sanding paddles on that concert grand, but for
>everyday use, and especially on old beaters, the Dremmel's great.

>I still use the paddles and stips for the back and underside of most
>upright hammers.

>Where I really like it is on the angled bass/tenor hammers. But the
>slo-mo
>Dremmel also gives you good control for light work on the treble.

>I owe Alan Hoeckleman credit for talking me into trying this; I only
had
>the plug-in, dentist's drill version before and was totally unwilling
to
>use THAT.

>Reminds me of a funny moment. In a chapter technical, we had a class on
>hammer filing and a discussion of the Dremmel ensued. Someone mentioned
>that little device that's supposed to guide the depth of cutting. Wim
>Blees
>was in our chapter back then; his comment was, "Well, it let's you
>control
>the depth of your divot."

>Alan Barnard
>Salem, Missouri



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