Controlling steam hammer treatment

[Porritt, David]

Hammers don't last forever.  Even if the piano has not been played to
the point where there are deep grooves or a flat striking surface the
tension in the hammer eventually dissipates and the fibers get old and
crunchy.  At that point (or before) the hammers are toast and need to be
replaced.  When you stick your needles in and just feel and hear a
"crunch" stop, save your time and energy.  If the customer can't afford
new hammers, sympathize but don't expect nor promise results that just
aren't possible.

 

dave 

 

David M. Porritt

dporritt at smu.edu

________________________________

From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On
Behalf Of David Ilvedson
Sent: Monday, September 18, 2006 11:45 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Controlling steam hammer treatment

 

I come across the same thing...old Steinway hammers that won't be
budged.   What's with those hammers?  

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, CA 94044



________________________________

Original message
From: KeyKat88 at aol.com
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Received: 9/18/2006 4:45:20 PM
Subject: Re: Controlling steam hammer treatment

Greetings, 

 

         That looks like a great method I am going to try it. It works
with new hammers, does it work with very old hammers that are hard?
Today I had a job to soften the tone of this ca,1920's piano's hammers.
No matter how much I needled the things they were like stale dry pieces
of bread.. o...r... ancient marshmellows of antiquity..... I even
shallow needled the "forbidden" strike zone (oooOOO NO,, MR BILL..
DONT....oo...oooo  O NOoooooo!}  (thats what I say to myself when  I
have to needle the crown...even if its shallowly, I feel guilty) I
almost couldn't do a dang thing with them. Well, the tone did get
alittle softer. Carding and needling did improve the tone, but not as
much as I had expected.

 

Julia

Reading, PA

 

In a message dated 9/18/2006 2:21:36 PM Eastern Standard Time,
drjazzca at yahoo.ca writes:

	Hello
	  
	   Try this for a controlled focused use of steam.
	
	  1) Cut a very thin cloth into a strip approx.
	     18 inches long by 4 inches wide.
	  2) Wet cloth 
	  3) Wring out cloth well so it is only damp wet, 
	     not dripping wet. 
	  4) Support the hammer section to be voiced with a   
	     rail, and lay the damp cloth over the hammers.
	  5) Iron the hammers individually in the desired area
	with a hammer iron, or as a group with an iron.
	
	   I prefer individual ironing, as the tone and
	duration of the sizzle cues me to drive an equal
	amount of steam with each touch of the iron. This
	method allows focused application of steam to just the
	tip, or just the shoulder as desired. 
	
	   I find steaming in this way is like sugar coating,
	getting rid of the "uglies", but fails to add
	anything. It removes content, not adding content to
	the tone. Deep needling of the shoulders can bolster
	lower partials, power, and sustain. I have found steam
	voicing very effective for quick results that are
	dramatic and pleasing on very hard hammers that seem
	to be prevalent among certain new piano brands as
	delivered. Quikly getting rid of some bite on these
	pianos is often good to my ear.    
	
	                           Cheers
	                           David Renaud 
	                           RPT
	                           Canada
	--------------------------------------------
	Greetings, 
	   How do you control the steam stream while executing
	the steam hammer softening method? I would be
	concerned about having hammers unravelling off the
	core. Julia Gottshall Reading, PA

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