Jeff
I would suggest you remove a couple of the hammers and send them to one of several hammer makers, and see if they can duplicate them.
As far as the shanks, if they are brittle, perhaps they should be replaced, too. No sense in replacing the hammer when the shanks will break in the process of hanging them, or when the customer starts playing the piano. And if you're going that far, why not replace the butts and flanges, too since the centers will most likely be worn out.
This is another situation where you don't want to "save the customer money". In the long run, it will cost you.
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Willem "Wim" Blees, RPT
Mililani, HI 96789
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Original Message:
Sent: 10-21-2014 19:51
From: Jeff Alterman
Subject: Any outfit that recovers piano hammers in the United States.
Are there any outfits that recover piano hammers in the United States? I have a customer who owns a Sohmer & Co. spinet from the late 1930s that has relatively narrow hammers and it might be necessary to preserve the hammer moldings unless it would be possible to shape the replacement hammers to fit into the old piano. I would be afraid to have the old hammers broken off of the shanks since the shanks might be on the brittle side.
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Jeff Alterman
Hastings-on-Hudson NY
914-478-3454
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