I've not heard of the term "excavating felt", but two other methods commonly used to lighten hammers are full length tapering of the sides of the hammer (best done with a jig on a table saw. An adjustable jig can allow you to control the angle of the taper, and the width of the tail), and the use of a drum sander with about 80 grit paper to shape the sides of the hammer (you can put in about a 2' drum into your drill press and do it there). I think I would prefer the use of the drum sander over the razor myself. Will Truitt -----Original Message----- From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf Of jimialeggio Sent: Sunday, April 04, 2010 10:45 PM To: pianotech at ptg.org Subject: Re: [pianotech] regulation problem David Weiss wrote: > What do you mean by excavating felt? > I haven't experimented with Ed McMorrow's "Lighthammer" trimming (though its on my mind), but he removes a fair amount of felt from the shoulders with a razor blade. Perhaps he might chime in here if he's lurking. The folks who own the Frederick Collection of Historical Grand Pianos in Ashburnham, MA have also performed this "excavation" on a couple of their modern period instruments in an attempt to achieve a hammer weight approaching what they surmise as hammer weight original to the action. Jim I -- Jim Ialeggio grandpianosolutions.com 978- 425-9026 Shirley, MA
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