Pianotech

At convention, I noticed the bamboo hammer shanks and hammer cores that Brooks was displaying. I'm not married to any tradition of materials at this point, and was very intrigued by them.

I noticed in Wally World today the bamboo skewers (pictured below), and couldn't help to wonder if anyone has used these to plug holes after a bridge cap is removed? Bamboo is considerably harder than hard maple. 

Like the hammer shanks and cores, it's anything but traditional, but it seems that we have only begun exploration of this material in the piano repair world.

Would there be any drawbacks to this kind of application?  And for those of you who use or have used bamboo in one application or another, what are your thoughts?

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Tim Foster RPT
New Oxford PA
(470) 231-6074
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There are over 1200 varieties of bamboo, some very hard and some very soft. The fibers run continuously from bottom to top, not really like most wood grains. Actually bamboo is classified as a woody grass.

The skewers are quite soft and probably wouldn't keep a drill bit from drifting. Might work in lieu of shoe-pegs though. I do use bamboo toothpicks while replacing silk loops in grands. Also, the skewers are not very uniform in diameter.

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Steven Rosenthal RPT
Honolulu HI
(808) 521-7129
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Hi Tim ~  Thanks so much for stopping by the Brooks booth to explore the bamboo hammer moldings and the bamboo shanks and flanges.  This is a new sustainable product offered by The Abel Hammer Company.  As of yet we do not carry a complete stock of these, but we have had a few technicians who have used them with great success.  The product is extremely stable to humidity changes and it machines really well in drilling, tapering and tailing and the weight of the moldings is much more consistent than wood. We look forward to pursuing this line with Abel.  If anyone is interested in these products feel free to contact us: 800-326-2440 or office@brooksltdonline.com

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Melanie Brooks
Brooks, Ltd. Piano Products LLC
Uncasville CT
(860) 848-6605
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