KS 32: New Hammers for the Mason

KS 32: New Hammers for the Mason

This week, I will share a little real-time shift in my hammer prep for hammer hanging. I still measure the distance from strike to hammer center at ends of sections and translate that to a cutoff line on the tails. When cut, the overall hammer length will then include 1 inch tails throughout the scale and custom bore lengths. Apart from reducing compromise in the regulation, this makes for one boring setup for all hammers, modified only by angle of bore. And the bore entry is set by...
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KS 28: Gauging the Plan - Part 2

KS 28: Gauging the Plan - Part 2

So next, the worn backchecks come out and new backchecks go in. WNG backchecks are very height-sensitive with their checking surface abbreviated for better clearance and closer-to-string catching. To determine their optimum height, I compared old and new and ran samples. The original backchecks were higher in the bass and lower in the treble to work with hammer tails longer in the bass and shorter in the treble. Since I'll be custom boring the replacement hammers, I'll make all tails one inch. And all the new backchecks will then be the same height.  I removed the old backchecks using a shop-scrap jig and pry bar, then drilled holes larger for greater-diameter WNG backcheck wires.
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