Hammer Head Filing

Hammer Head Filing

How are the hammer heads on your piano looking lately?  The hammer heads on a piano are much like the mallets used to play a xylophone, except that all 88 notes in your piano have a separate "mallet" or hammer.

The hammerheads on a piano receive more punishment than any other part of the piano action. If the hammer heads on your upright or grand piano have deep grooves and cuts from many years of heavy playing they may need filing.   This is one of many repairs we do here at Brigham Larson Pianos!   

So, what happens when your hammer heads are worn? Instead of delivering a clean blow to the strings upon striking, they will wrap around the strings producing a poor tone. It would be like an accomplished violinist trying to play her instrument while wearing a mitten on her left hand.  Shown below to the left is a worn hammer head.  See the deep groves? On the right is a well-functioning hammer head.

Getting your hammer heads filed will result in a much cleaner, crisp tone.  This repair could either be done at your home or our shop here in Pleasant Grove.  It requires moving the action (working part) of your upright or grand piano and gauging how much felt from the hammers would need to be removed. Then the hammers would be re-shaped by sanding them with a strip of sandpaper (as shown in the below picture.) After this, the hardness of the hammers would be adjusted to get the best tone possible.  

If you would like to learn more about hammer head filing, or would like to schedule a piano tuning or repair from one of our expert pianos technicians, please give us a call at 801-701-0113 or visit our website at brighamlarsonpianos.com.  We would love to discuss the best maintenance program for you and your pianos to get it sounding its very best!