Hammer felt fix

[David Boyce]

A couple of weeks ago I examined a piano for a family who were thinking of buying it.  (It was very good and they did).  I noticed that a tuner in the past had fixed a detached hammer felt by using an electrical cable tie, and I thought it a good idea.  He didn't seem to've used any glue to stick the felt, just clamped it with the cable tie.

I had the chance to try the method today on one of the pianos in a school. The felt on two bass hammers had detached on the bottom side. I apllied CA glue, clamped the felt and put on a cable tie on each. It worked well.  The weight of the cable tie is negligible and the only possible difficulty is that the plastic might foul the adjacent hammer, but that didn't happen.  The cable tie bites into the felt a bit, so it doesn't slip down.

Best regards,

David Boyce

[Paul McCloud]

Hi, David:
Very good idea. There is actually a pair of pliers which are designed to put tension on cable ties. Might be something to look into. I occasionally do this repair, and getting the felt clamped while the glue sets has been a problem for me.
I've resorted to using mini bar clamps, to which I glued some small wooden cauls. These pinch the felt at the low shoulder while the glue cures. The cauls are shaped to match the curve of the felt so that the clamping action is on the lowest part of the felt. The clamps are inserted from the front of the hammer, which also helps keep the crown of the felt from coming off completely.
Thanks for the tip!
Paul McCloud
San DIego

[Olek]

Hello, very nice pliers, what is the brand ?

I had some success re installing tension in some old hammers without resiliency with a similar pressing of the bottom of the hammer, but with metal spring pliers (very strong) and basic impregnation . Enough to obtain a manageable hammer.

[Ron Nossaman]

On 3/5/2013 7:26 AM, Olek wrote:
> Hello, very nice pliers, what is the brand ?

Google ratchet clamp. Lots of choices.
Ron N

[Paul McCloud]

Hi, Olek:
Check this out:

http://www.amazon.com/Xcelite-DCT300V-Die-Cast-DataCom-Handle/dp/B004UNFU08/ref=pd_cp_hi_2

There are many choices for these pliers, up to several hundred dollars. The one above is just over $30., made by Xcelite. Paladin is another good company, theirs is $47.

Paul McCLoud

[Ron Koval]

A small bunch of zip ties just found a place in my tuning kit - thanks!  I carry gorilla glue brand super glue, that would probably be my choice to use in that situation...

Ron Koval

[Albert Picknell]

"to've"   I like that.

[David Boyce]

I'm glad you like it!  Stick around; I have many other grammatical felicities......

Best regards,

David.
www.davidboyce.co.uk

[David Boyce]

Sorry for the delay in replying - been out and about today.

The ratchet clamp in the photo is one of a set of, I think, six clamps, two of each of three sizes, that I bought very inexpensively from the deep discount supermarket chain Lidl (readers in Europe will know of it).  I didn't buy them specifically for piano hammers - that was an afterthought!

As others have pointed out, such clamps are fairly widely available, at various prices and qualities.

Best regards,

David.

www.davidboyce.co.uk

.

[John Formsma]

I bought some similar cheap clamps at Walmart some years ago. I think...it could have been at a dollar store.They are cheap, made in China, and I don't use them all that often. But the ratchet clamps are really nice for hammer felt repair. And they come in handy for other things also. Price was $6.00-10.00 for six of them. Two have broken, but I can't complain about that purchase.

-- 

John Formsma, RPT

Blue Mountain, MS

[Jon Page]

WHAt I have done in these regards is to glue and clamp the felt. then I drill two small hole to insert a 'staple' made from phosphor bronx spring wire and twist the ends. I takes time and the fix is long term.

[Jon Page]

On Tuesday, March 5, 2013 7:33:47 PM UTC-5, Jon Page wrote:

WHAt I have done in these regards is to glue and clamp the felt. then I drill two small hole to insert a 'staple' made from phosphor bronx spring wire and twist the ends. I takes time and the fix is long term.

Let me rewrite this...

 What I have done in these regards is to glue and clamp the felt. Then I drill two small holes through the lower shoulders to insert a 'staple' made from phosphor bronze spring wire

and twist the ends. It takes time but the fix is long term...hopefully.

[David Boyce]

Mmm yes an elegant solution.  But in a pretty worn 1970s school piano, when you have five more to do, the cable tie and CA glue is a quick and easy fix!

Best regards,

David.
www.davidboyce.co.uk

[Olek]

Thank you, for the name and information we use similar clamps but all metal, and they are expensive, as the "vice grips" (mostly used for soldering)

The plastic version may allow me to have more than 2 or 3.

The good durable ones may be less cheap I suppose.

 SImilar clamps are used to install fabrics on furniture so I suppose I will find something durable.

[Larry Fisher RPT]

Great idea David.  I've used thread to hold the hammer felt to the core until next tuning.  Wrap the thread around the felt until it's held the way you want it, tie it off and continue tuning.  Weight is not an issue and the small cuts that the thread makes aren't serious.  Next tuning the thread is removed and in time, the string cuts minimize a bit although they never really disappear. 

 

The zip ties I can see are faster and probably don't leave the cuts that the thread would. 

 

Shoe laces instead of thread?? 

[Douglas Gregg]

I'm not sure about shoe laces but I like to use unwaxed dental floss
for these kinds of jobs. It is super strong. I also use it to wrap
glued broken hammer shanks that break on a diagonal. If you use
Titebond glue, you can remove the dental floss at the next tuning or
the next day and the glue will hold fine.

Doug Gregg
Classic Piano Doc
Southold, NY

[David Boyce]

Oh yes I can see that dental floss would be a good material to use.  The cable tie method surely beats it for quickness though, and that counts for something when you are trying to get through all the pianos in a high school in the course of a day.

For hammer shanks broken on a diagonal, nowadays I'm using CA glue with brief clamping, and it seems to work well.  Do others use CA for hammer shanks?

Best regards,

David.
www.davidboyce.co.uk

[Dean May]

Yes I use CA for broken hammer shanks. Works really well when the break is on the diagonal.

I use braided Dacron fishing fly line now instead of dental floss. You have to go to the sporting goods store to get it whereas dental floss you can get anywhere, so dental floss is a good back up. The braided Dacron is super strong. I sometimes wrap the break and soak the wrap with CA as well. A little extra reinforcement. 

Dean

[Mike Kurta]

    I prefer a soda straw as a clamp.  It takes a bit of trial and error to find just the right diameter, but its nearly invisible, cheap, quick and effective. 

    Mike Kurta

[Elwood Doss]

I use Titebond wood glue to glue hammer shanks.  For a clamp, if the shank is split, I use orthodontic bands that I purchase from our local orthodontist.  I use 4 to 6 of the small rubber bands and roll two or three on both pieces of the shank, place some glue on the break and roll the bands over the break.  Works great and will fit every size shank. A pack of around 100 bands cost about 2 dollars.   I personally like “Chipmunks!”

Joy!

Elwood

 

Rev. Elwood Doss, Jr., M. Mus. Ed., RPT

Piano Technician/Technical Director

Department of Music

355 Clement Hall

University of Tennessee at Martin

Martin, TN 38237

Office: 731/881-1852

Fax: 731/881-7415

Cell: 731/479-4043

[Joseph Garrett]

And a bit more mass than it's neighbors.<G> But, who's gonna know?<G>

Best,

Joe

-----Original Message-----
From: Dean May
Sent: Mar 6, 2013 1:15 PM
To: pian...@googlegroups.com
Subject: Re: [ptech] Re: Hammer felt fix

Yes I use CA for broken hammer shanks. Works really well when the break is on the diagonal.

I use braided Dacron fishing fly line now instead of dental floss. You have to go to the sporting goods store to get it whereas dental floss you can get anywhere, so dental floss is a good back up. The braided Dacron is super strong. I sometimes wrap the break and soak the wrap with CA as well. A little extra reinforcement. 

Dean

On Wednesday, March 6, 2013 2:35:24 PM UTC-5, David B wrote:

Oh yes I can see that dental floss would be a good material to use.  The cable tie method surely beats it for quickness though, and that counts for something when you are trying to get through all the pianos in a high school in the course of a day.

For hammer shanks broken on a diagonal, nowadays I'm using CA glue with brief clamping, and it seems to work well.  Do others use CA for hammer shanks?

Best regards,

David.
www.davidboyce.co.uk

On 06/03/2013 19:22, Douglas Gregg wrote:

I'm not sure about shoe laces but I like to use unwaxed dental floss
for these kinds of jobs. It is super strong. I also use it to wrap
glued  broken hammer shanks that break on a diagonal. If you use
Titebond glue, you can remove the dental floss at the next tuning or
the next day and the glue will hold fine.

Doug Gregg

Captain of the Tool Police
Squares R I
gpianoworks.com

[Bruce Browning]

I use heat shrink tubing, from electrical/electronics suppliers.  Of course glue before applying a small collar, the length of the break, onto one piece before joining. Slide over join then shrink. This can be cut off when all is secure.

On 7 March 2013 11:28, Mike Kurta <mku...@charter.net> wrote:

    I prefer a soda straw as a clamp.  It takes a bit of trial and error to find just the right diameter, but its nearly invisible, cheap, quick and effective. 

    Mike Kurta

Bruce Browning
The Piano Tuner

[Olek]

even the thread used for sewing is enough, I use CA only to keep the parts together and a drop of titebond (or similar) on the other side of the break. usually no reinforcing is necessary if the gluing is neat. 

Glue is as hard as wood.