Piano World Home Page Forums Our Most Popular Forums Piano Tuner-Technicians Forum hammer click - any other causes other than loose?

HI

I have a single hammer that is producing an audible click when it hits the strings.

It is the same click as a few other hammers had that were loose.

I reglued all hammers and all clicks are gone except this one.

I also reglued the shaft to the butt and have needled a little but still there is a click.

Everything else is intact, no loose flange centrpins, spring appears good.

It is not the butt felts.

I have swapped two hammers around to test if it is coming from the strings and it is definitely the hammer. A different hammer in that position doesnt click, and the clicky hammer still clicks in a different position.

Is there anything else? Or just keep trying to reglue the head?

Check the catcher. Also, see if there is any glue on the butt felt.

Pinning can click too.

The bridle wire might be touching the back-check wire-but I think BDB is on the most likely culprit.

Hi

So I have isolated everything and its not the hammer butt felt/leather.

Its not the backcheck

Its definitely coming from the hammer.

I have reglued the hammer on twice and reglued the shank to the butt and also replaced the shank yet the click hasnt changed.

Is it possible the head/felt has become faulty.? Or loose or hardened?
It seems much harder than the other felts with a hard lump in one portion of the felt.

It doesnt seem as if there is any glue on the felt, but maybe that hardened lump was wood glue or something?

Can this be rectified?
or simply go for a new hammer?

Oops, I havent repinned it. I will do that now

Try using a pair of pliers to turn the catcher .... more often than not this type of noise is caused by a loose joint on either end where the small piece of shank enters the hammer butt or the leather covered catcher. The joints may seem quite firm when examining by hand, but gently twisting using pliers will immediately uncover a faulty one. Failing that being the cause, I have come across a tapping noise caused by a a fine split in the actual hammer shank itself, but this very rarely occurs.

Or a fine split in the bird's eye at the center pin joint.

Sometimes you have to take apart joints and reglue them, even if they seem solid.

Got it!

Loose catcher shank joint.

Tiniest bit loose. Took quite a bit of turning pressure to feel it was loose.

Fantastic, thanks everybody.

Excellent lesson in hammer clicks.

I save all these posts on my harddrive for my ongoing study.

It is turning out that this old piano was an excellent choice to learn on. It has needed such a variety of repairs that I am learning a lot.

Thanks again.

Ben