New hammers for baby grand - help!!

jamesp · Post by **jamesp** » 08 Jan 2007, 22:28

Hello all.

I have a problem and would greatly appreciate some expert advice. I have a 1937 Rogers grand piano which has a beatiful full rich tone and I very much enjoy playing. However, ever since I bought it a year ago I have had a problem with the action feeling 'lumpy' i.e. the touch weight feels very uneven. I spent a considerable amount of time meticulously adjusting the weight of each key and this was a vast improvement. The problem still persisted although much reduced. I came to the conclusion (and this was confirmed by a visit from a piano technician) that the centres on the hammer shanks had very different friction from one note to the next. The rollers are also somewhat unevenly worn.

I have decided to replace the shanks and hammers. Although the old hammers are not very worn, I wanted to keep the shanks in tact so if anything went wrong I could easily swap back. I have contacted Langer who can supply me with a replacement set of shanks which will be exactly the same as the originals (it's a Schwander action), so that just leaves the hammers themselves. As I am a private individual not may piano supply companies are willing to deal with me. However I contacted a certain company in london who have been very helpful with odds and ends for the piano in the past.

They have sent me an off-the-shelf replacement set of Abel hammers. They differ to the originals in the following aspects:

(a) They are a little wider - so may require thinning down as i think ajdacent hammers may be in danger of rubbing;
(b) They have a hornbeam centre so are heavier than the old ones which were mahogany;
(c) There is less felt around the basses of the hammers;
(d) The angle of the boreholes are not the same in the middle part of the piano;
(e) The high trebles have much more felt on them than the original hammers
(f) The felt on the new hammers is noticeably harder - I'm really worried about this... please read on

The problem I have is that I find the current sound of the piano to be almost perfectly what I want. I tried lots of new pianos before buying this one so it took a while to find one that suited me. I am terrified that:

1. The new Abel hammers will be hard to fit and will make the sound brighter because they are harder felt. The sound is already a little on the bright side and I am very keen not to make it more so;
2. That (d) will mean that the striking point will not be the same on all strings of the unison so it won't sound as good with the new hammers.
3. The Abels are heavier so will require significant alteration of the touch weight and/or make the action more sluggish as I will have to add more mass to return the weight to its current setting.

The piano supply company did offer (for about £100 more) to have the original hammers sent to Abel so they could make an exact replacement set.

Please can someone advise if my concerns are correct? Should I return the new Abel's untouched and get a set made to pattern? Will Abel be able to use a softer felt so it doesn't sound brighter? Is there an alternative manufacturer you would recommend and will they deal with me direct.

Please help as I love this piano and just want it "right"!

Many thanks

James

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 08 Jan 2007, 23:40

Re centring the hammers and replacing the rollers would have solved most of your problems, but that is without seeing the piano the flanges may be gone.

The new hammers are going to give you big problems the key hammer ratio will have been set for a low weight on a 1930 piano, your new hammers are going to be too heavy the inertia will be way off, even if you add lead to the keys also, the repetition springs will have to be set stronger again upsetting the inertia of the action.

You would have to take off quite a lot of felt and very accurately on each hammer the weight has to run smooth across all the hammers or the touch will be uneven.

On 1930s grand I tend to send them to able, get them recovered, remove them and put them on new shanks. Even then you have to take some off

However, these days most 1930s pianos are not worth it cheaper to buy new

If you are happy with the hammers you have got then put them on the new shanks

Barrie,

jamesp · Post by **jamesp** » 08 Jan 2007, 23:53

Hi Barrie, thanks for your prompt response. I appreciate that the piano is probably not worth it; I only paid £1250 for it to begin with. However, I cannot find a new piano which is in any way affordable that comes close to it for richness and warmth of sound. Before Christmas I decided to reassure myself that it was worth spending some money on by visiting a piano showroom to try a few new ones. I tried a Challen (~£4k), two Yamahas (~£5k and ~£12k) and a factory restored Bluthner (~£18k). I still prefer mine. One piano which I thought sounded most like mine in terms of tone and warmth was a new Bechstein upright which cost ~£18k. I simply don't have this amount of money to spend so really see no option but to work on mine.

I think I'll have new hammers made to pattern

Post by **Barrie Heaton** » 09 Jan 2007, 01:45

jamesp wrote:
I think I'll have new hammers made to pattern

You will still have a lot of work – but the weight will be closer to the original However, even made to pattern hammers tend to be more dense it’s the modern processes, so you will have quite a lot of toning to do.

One other option is a set of pre hung hammers made to pattern - this is a set of hammers made to pattern and then put on the shanks to the pattern of the original’s

Barrie,

jamesp · Post by **jamesp** » 10 Jan 2007, 00:48

Hi Barrie thanks for your reply. I've had a further chat to the piano supply company who suggested another option would be to send all the old hammers to Abel and have them replace the centres, the rollers and re-felt the hammers. This way, they suggested, I will end up with something which is as similar to what I have as possible. Would you advise this, or would it be better (and cheaper?) to go for new hammers made to the pattern of the old ones fitted to new shanks as you suggested?

Many thanks

sussexpianos · Post by **sussexpianos** » 10 Jan 2007, 14:46

Abel do a light weight set of grand hammers for older pianos. If you have these bored to pattern, then you will have a new set of hammers to be proud off. David Fry Piano Services (just google it) can supply you these hammers. Just need to send off patterns ( 1st and last hammer of each section and when the angles change) and he will weight them and bore a set and send tham back within a week.