File Hammers Like a Sculptor

Jan 6

Today I filed a set of hammers on a Yamaha C7 that were in the worst shape I'd ever seen in a piano. The hammers not only had majorly deep grooves but apparently someone had used a softener on the high shoulders which caused them to puff out like swollen cotton balls. The worst part was that a flat spot had been filed into the back side of the hammer. Getting these hammers back to a good shape would prove to be difficult.

As always with hammers filing, the goal is to restore the hammer shape to one of the preferred hammer shapes: Round, Diamond, or Pear. In this case I didn't have much choice. The flat spot on the back meant the Pear or Diamond shape were my choices. I went Pear. Tastes good, looks good. Let's talk tools...

For hammer filing I like fabric backed sand paper instead of regular paper. It holds it's shape better and doesn't curl or rip. For finer grits like 220 or 320, paper is fine. Just be careful not to round the corners of the hammers. The tools I use are: a support board, a filing paddle with 80 grit GatorGrit Emery Cloth, a strip of 80 grit cut 2 hammers wide, 150 grit and 220 grit paper cut four hammers wide, and a breathing mask. I used to tough it out with no mask until I got sick from breathing in old felt. Word to the wise, use a mask.

With hammers that look this rough I start with the paddle to rough in the shape and clean it up with the 80 grit strip making sure the surface remains square to the sides and the top is level. When I've got a section done I move to the 150 and 220 to further refine the look and smooth the felt. To go the extra step, an iron or even an electric shaver can really polish the look of the finished hammer.

With care and patience you can really become a sculptor with your hammer filing and make those funky dilapidated hammers look like they're straight from the factory.