Flexible collodion for voicing hammers

BobDavis88@aol.com BobDavis88@aol.com
Fri Dec 10 10:09 MST 1999


hgreeley@leland.Stanford.EDU writes:

> (FWIW, both of 
>  them preferred at the time, when any hardener was needed at all, 
>  shellac.  I used it for a long time...basically until customer/technician 
>  complaints about "discoloration" became too onerous.

Greetings, Horace,

Three things. First, I assume they used alcohol as a solvent, but did they 
ever also use anything hotter, like acetone, as a diluent? 

Second, I don't see why bleached shellac wouldn't do in this application.

Third, it seems to me that shellac belongs in the category with some sanding 
sealers and really cheap lacquers in that it has low cohesive strength, and 
is easier to break up when voicing. The "better" lacquers are more toward the 
keytop/acetone end of the very high cohesive strength continuum. I think 
there's a difference in tone, and I suppose one could argue that it comes 
both from the way the two types bind the felt together as well as the way 
they react to needles.

Bob Davis


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