CAUT

  • 1.  steaam over-lacquesred hammers?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted 2 hours ago

    Greetings,

    A client has a 1974 Steinway B with over-lacquered hammers. The most aggressive needling techniques have fallen short of attenuating the attack brightness sufficiently for the client's taste (his hearing is very sensitive). I mentioned to a colleague that there seem to be only two options at this point: wash out the lacquer with acetone or lacquer thinner, or replace the hammers with new ones that are all the way at the soft end of the tinal spectrum (e.g. Ronsen Bacons).

    This colleague suggested steaming the hammers. I have used steam successfully on inherently hard hammers (e. g., 1980's Yamahas) but have never tried it on hammers that have been hardened with lacquer. If steaming would work, it would be far less expensive and much faster than the other two options I have mentioned.

    Has anyone out there tried steaming over-lacquered Steinway hammers? And if so, what were the results?

    Thanks,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------


  • 2.  RE: steaam over-lacquesred hammers?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted an hour ago
    Hi Alan,

    I have, in several similar situations. I learned it from a class done by Bruce Stevens and Steve Schell at a conference years ago. I recommend a conservative approach, with controllable amounts of moisture. I used wet T shirt material, fairly wrung out, a narrow strip (1/4") at top dead center on the hammers. Use a hot iron for a few seconds, level, to drive steam straight down and in - when the moisture is gone, it's gone, so you can't overdo it. Don't rock the iron, it can puff out the shoulders. Be prepared to do a light filing afterward if hammers look shaggy at all. (It's ideal to steam first, on a set of hammers that are flat on top and need a good filing anyway.) I would then go back and repeat on individual hammers or sections if it wasn't enough, or use cloth less wrung out. 

    My theory is that sheep's wool is like my hair, it curls up when it's damp. I felt like it revived some of the springiness or resiliency of the felt. Be aware that while hammers are still damp at all, it will sound like you went too far. With drying time and a tuning, a lot of sound will return, and may return unevenly. So do the steaming early in a service call and tuning. You can voice as normal if a few notes come back too much. 

    Let us know how it turns out! Plus, what's to lose? If the results aren't good enough, you still have your other options. 

    Kathy





  • 3.  RE: steaam over-lacquesred hammers?

    Registered Piano Technician
    Posted an hour ago

    Thanks, Kathy. I appreciate the benefit of your considerable experience. This is exactly the kind of input I was seeking!

    Best,

    Alan



    ------------------------------
    Alan Eder, RPT
    Herb Alpert School of Music
    California Institute of the Arts
    Valencia, CA
    661.904.6483
    ------------------------------