Therefore, examining the face of the hammers is an excellent way to determine how much usage the piano has had in it's lifetime. Hammers that are heavily worn will typically contribute to the 'tinny' nature of the pianos sound since the hammers are, in essence, slapping the strings with a flat object as opposed to striking them with a rounded object. This slapping action actually creates undesirable overtones which detract from the clearity of the sound. Lost Motion Another good indicator of wear in the action of the piano is the amount of free-play between the piano keys and the piano hammers. As the piano is used, the felts located at all the contact points between the keys and the hammers wear slightly.
Lost motion is very easy to determine.
Simply look at the hammers while touching the key. When lost motion is present, the key can be depressed slightly and the hammer will remain stationary. If I'm in the Shop or at Home, I will answer the phone. Otherwise, please leave a message.