I also bore the hammer prior to tapering, fits better in the jig. I also order the moldings uncoved (Ronsen can deliver this). If there is a cove, it's obvious which is the front. If there is a twisted staple, the twisted portion goes in the front so there is not chance for it to be snagged by the back check (oftentimes height is incorrect). I also order the moldings longer to accommodate the longest of a tapered bore, a 27mm tail + 3mm for trimming. I trim tails to length after hanging and cut off the hammer shank protrusion and rough arc the tail on a bandsaw.
I also start by removing the hammer which has the underfelt (if any) the only goes half-way across the molding. Also, pre-weigh the set and remove any that are too high or low in weight. Gang pre-file, bore, taper, weigh, and match to pre-weighed shank SW's to target curve.
I don't cove al all because it removes so little and is a good spot to remove a few tenths of a gram when needed to keep the sides uniform. Too many times a pre-coved molding restricts a sufficient arcing.
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Regards,
Jon Page
mailto:
jonpage@comcast.nethttp://www.pianocapecod.com------------------------------
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 11:26
From: Tim Coates
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
What I find most important in my process is finding the front and back of the hammer. It's important for me because I bore the hammers before I taper. About 30 years ago at the National PTG convention in Philadelphia Chris Robinson did a class where he talked about how hammers are made. He found there is a front and a back to the hammer. It can have to do with the pressures in the clamping and the direction of the felt fibers.
It is a simple subjective test. If your hammers don't have a line drawn on them as they lay unwrapped, do so so there is a consistent side of the hammer (lineside or plainside). Ray at Ronsen has confirmed that as you unwrap his hammers they are laid out just as they were when they came out of the clamp. I don't know about other hammers because I only use Ronsens now. Sample bore about six hammers throughout the scale, attach to a shank without glue using shimming paper to make a tight fit, and strike against string. Listen for the better sound based on which side of the hammer. You find the front or back of the hammer and have the line to guide you in boring, tapering, coving, tail shaping.
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Tim Coates
Sioux Falls SD
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 10:53
From: Jon Page
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
Oh wait, it's modified. It gives me the idea to perfect mine during all this shop time.
------------------------------
Regards,
Jon Page
mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
http://www.pianocapecod.com
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 10:28
From: Jon Page
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
I really like a table saw to taper. I've been using my own jig but that Spurlock jig is what mine wants to be when it grows up. Is it still available?
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Regards,
Jon Page
mailto:jonpage@comcast.net
http://www.pianocapecod.com
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 10:16
From: Mark Adams
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
I have used a modified Spurlock jig for years. It allows me to make and check samples. I can change parameters on the fly. It is like a voicing tool.
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Mark Adams
Artist Piano
Solana Beach CA
858-583-3333
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 08:51
From: Tim Coates
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
Alan, I remember that article and picture from Richard Davenport in the Journal. I don't remember there being any directions as to how to make the devise. I took the article and picture to an industrial tool supply store that has a machine shop and they weren't real helpful. They told me the electric motors in the picture were very expensive. Back then the motors would have been about $300 each. As I remember they suggested used motors. At that point I looked into Bill Spurlock's method. I bought two of his tapering jigs and keep them setup as one a left and one a right hammer side. The entire process takes about 45 minutes to taper an entire set.
I do remember the setup and wished it was clearly presented. I might have built the devise. But I have what I have and is efficient for me.
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Tim Coates
Sioux Falls SD
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 07:21
From: Alan Eder
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
For efficiency and consistency, the best method of tapering hammers I am familiar with comes from my late, great mentor, Keith Hardesty. It consists of two disc sanders, rotating in opposite directions and facing each other at the angle needed for the desired taper. The hammer head rides into the two spinning discs on a carriage, tapering both sides at the same time, and resulting in consistent taper from hammer to hammer. (Sorry I do not have an image handy. Richard Davenport, RPT, had a PTJ article and cover photo of his version of Hardesty's tool. It was decades back.)
Alan
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Alan Eder, RPT
Herb Alpert School of Music
California Institute of the Arts
Valencia, CA
661.904.6483
Original Message:
Sent: 06-26-2020 03:06
From: Glen Hart
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
Hi Joe- Here are some pics of the plane sled you mentioned. I don't know how much experience you have with hand tools but I do know that very few techs know anything about using a hand plane so I'll just make a few comments to the general readership to maximize their chances of success. I wouldn't want anyone to invest a lot of time and money only to be disappointed.
If you're wanting to cut the hammer felt (and not just the molding), the blade must be ridiculously sharp. A good sharpening system will be a couple of hundred bucks - minimum. One must know how to sharpen first and it's not easy to learn. The reason I included the video is to assure everyone that what appears to to be happening the the still photos is really being done and the secret is knowing how to sharpen. The plane must be of high quality. The plane in the photos is a Lie-Nielsen 164, low angle, bevel up smoother. With a 12º bed and a bevel angle of 20º or less, it will slice right through the felt. A regular 45º bench plane will tend to drag on the felt. Mediocre steel has a crystal structure that is too large; it can't be sharpened if the crystal size is larger than the grit of the stone and you'll have to sharpen down to at least 3 microns. If everything goes right you should be able to get through a set of hammers without having to resharpen. After all of this, the first time you hit an errant staple, you're going to have a heart attack down both legs.
You can see in the pics how card punchings are used to position the hammer in the sled. You can cut the sides parallel or cut a taper by raising one end of the hammer higher than the other. Since the plane rides on the runners of the sled it will continue to slice until it bottoms out. I don't use it for tapering because it turned out to be slower than I was willing to accept, even though the quiet meditative nature of planing has a calming effect on my type A personality!
For a while it seemed like a lot of the hammers I was getting had distorted felt from being cut apart with a dull knife. The sled excels at cleaning these up but just as effective is placing the plane upside-down in a vise and then sliding the hammer across the sole and into the blade. After building the sled I found it a lot less useful than I had hoped. I have a setup to do all of this with a table saw, but where's the fun in that, and I already had the plane. I was happy to later find out that the sled is fantastic for squaring and making parallel the faces of parts too small to be run through the table saw. In retrospect, even though it looks cool and works like it's supposed to, I don't think I would build it again or recommend it to others because there are just too many alternative methods that are faster and give better results.
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Glen Hart
Grand Junction CO
970-250-9596
Original Message:
Sent: 06-23-2020 17:10
From: Joe Wiencek
Subject: Hammer tapering clamp
Hi,
I'm wondering if anyone has a picture of a hammer clamping jig used to hold the head for tapering with a plane?
I seem to remember a photo posted by Glen Hart a few years back for just such an item. I'm interested in being able to taper hammers without the use of a tablesaw.
Thanks,
Joe Wiencek