The re-facing of hammers is always a compromise moving towards a re-felting of hammers.

As long as there has been no need to re-align hammers to their strings – which would necessitate a full re-face of the hammer(s) – the ultimate day of re-felting can be postponed as long as possible by doing what I’m calling a ‘Maintenance Re-Face’.

The aim of this is to reduce the width of the strike surface, thus reducing the harshness & erratic tone that comes with a broad strike surface.

Avoiding a full reface also reduces the need for subsequent re-voicing.

These pics show the re-facing in progress. The end result is basically a tidied-up version of what you see in the mid section (where my file is resting). The hammers closer to view (the lower treble section) show how wide the strike surface had become.