Softening hard 1980 Sohmer hammer advice requested.

[Alan McCoy]

Hi Thump,

Maybe a moot issue now. But I have a S&S M action in the shop now with
over-lacquered hammers. I tried washing out the lacquer with acetone. I
soaked the hammers with a generous helping of acetone. Four applications of
acetone over 2 weeks. Vigorous needling, squeezing the hammers to try to
breathe life into these lacquer brickettes. I made almost no progress.
Called the piano owner and explained that the hammers were beyond repair.
Now I'm replacing these with S&S hammers and Abel shanks (it is from the
teflon era). It'll be interesting to see how these newer S&S hammers sound.
Hammer #1 weighs 10.1g and #88 weighs 5.2g - unbored untapered.

You might have better success than I did, but these hammers were the worst
I've ever seen.

Alan

--Alan McCoy, RPT
Inland Northwest Chapter
Spokane, WA
ahm at webband.com


-----Original Message-----
From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of gordon stelter
Sent: Thursday, November 23, 2006 11:17 AM
To: Isaac Sadigursky; Pianotech List
Subject: Softening hard 1980 Sohmer hammer advice requested.

Am trying to soften the hammers on a 1980 Sohmer grand, 5'7". 
The hammers are those ones with the purple underfelt, and the yellow lacquer
shoulders. ( What a  color combo !!! ) WAAAAAAAAY too hard !!!!
Have already sanded out minor grooves, and now planning to "sugar-coat"
strike points with shallow needling. But would prefer specific advice from
someone who has already worked with this hammer type, in a similar
predicament.

      Thanks!
      Thump






 
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