Thanks Jim. Will the hammer rest rail need to packed under the rail felt after doing this job. Could taking off too much hammer felt cause the piano to be out of spec.
Thanks! If you use my method you’re leaving the middle 1/3 of the crown, and even at the end or the process, when mating hammers to strings, you’re only removing a tiny bit of felt from one or two of the string grooves. So no, this type of filing will not affect the actual, existing boring distance. (Note that the boring distance has changed before you even started due to wear) However, it will slightly change the weight, and since the hammer was misshapen in the first place you will need to ensure that regulation is optimal. Notice I said optimal and not “back to factory specs”. The dimensions as well as the weight of the hammer are different because of wear, so you must find a compromise of dip and blow that works to give you proper aftertouch. I try to never compromise let off. In other methods felt is sometimes removed from off the very top of the crown in the effort to remove even layers of felt. The “layers” are already compromised if the hammer is quite worn, so the “layer” concept has no validity. And felt does not “grow back” so that is why I try to never remove that last 1/3 of the top of the crown. Hope this helps.
So good to see someone who cares about their craft.
Jim! It's so fun to watch you work! You are such a master at what you do and have helped so many of us!
Thank you Jim!
thanks jim
I have done it recently, looks like someone plucked a sheep there 😁Thank you for all your videos!
What is the type of paper that you use to file?
Thanks Jim. Will the hammer rest rail need to packed under the rail felt after doing this job. Could taking off too much hammer felt cause the piano to be out of spec.
Thanks! If you use my method you’re leaving the middle 1/3 of the crown, and even at the end or the process, when mating hammers to strings, you’re only removing a tiny bit of felt from one or two of the string grooves. So no, this type of filing will not affect the actual, existing boring distance. (Note that the boring distance has changed before you even started due to wear) However, it will slightly change the weight, and since the hammer was misshapen in the first place you will need to ensure that regulation is optimal. Notice I said optimal and not “back to factory specs”. The dimensions as well as the weight of the hammer are different because of wear, so you must find a compromise of dip and blow that works to give you proper aftertouch. I try to never compromise let off.
In other methods felt is sometimes removed from off the very top of the crown in the effort to remove even layers of felt. The “layers” are already compromised if the hammer is quite worn, so the “layer” concept has no validity. And felt does not “grow back” so that is why I try to never remove that last 1/3 of the top of the crown. Hope this helps.
is this something i can do myself or do i need to call profesional ?
Hammer voicing