[CAUT] Alcohol/water on Yamaha hammers

[David Ilvedson]

Needled hammers will puff up with the addition of steam and apparently alcohol...

David Ilvedson, RPT
Pacifica, California



----- Original message ----------------------------------------
From: "Jeff Stickney" <jpstickney@montanadsl.net>
To: "College and University Technicians" <caut@ptg.org>
Received: 1/7/2006 6:06:07 PM
Subject: Re: [CAUT] Alcohol/water on Yamaha hammers


>Susan Kline wrote:
>>  At least, I've never had the opportunity to work on a set which have 
>> been submerged or over-steamed, to see if I could resuscitate them. 
>> Some skills it's just as well not to develop unless the necessity is 
>> dropped into one's lap ... which might happen to Jeff if matters 
>> proceed as he describes.
>List,

>That might well happen to me since I learned that the work was done 
>today with what I believe are disastrous results.  However, the person 
>who clued me into what transpired had this to say:

>"He (the tech) had his digital camera with him, and said I must look at 
>his photos of the Yamaha he had just taken. He showed me several 
>pictures of really ugly looking hammers, kinda like they had been 
>attacked with a course rasp or something. He said this happened when he 
>applied his al/h2o solution.  He thought it was the result of very 
>aggressive, bad needling, and his water treatment relaxed the hammer 
>felt, and the result was destroyed felt across the crown.  He said he 
>was glad the adjunct was with him as his witness, so no one would think 
>he did this to the hammers. (of course, maybe it could be argued that 
>his water treatment did this to the hammers, I don't know).  He said the 
>only way to fix the problem is new hammers."

>So apparently they are trying to turn this around to make it look like 
>the alcohol was not the cause of making the hammers look bad (i.e. 
>ruining them), but that the hammers were ruined before he did anything.  
>I haven't heard anything since then to know whom they have talked to or 
>what they are saying.  I did manage to call the chair and inform him of 
>the prevailing opinion about using alcohol and water, so at least I got 
>that word in before they had a chance to make their case.  I have no 
>idea where this will end up, but I'm not looking forward to having to 
>deal with these people.  As before, stay tuned.

>Jeff Stickney
>_______________________________________________
>caut list info: https://www.moypiano.com/resources/#archives