Bearing lubricant

[Mark Bolsius]

G'day Carman,

I've used Protek in situations where there's no choice. My preference is to
restring...not always possible :-)  but keep any lubricant well away from
the pinblock!

Another technique I use while tuning older pianos or those with obvious
corrosion is to drop the pitch of each string fractionally before pulling it
up to where I want it while I'm tuning. It doesn't have to be by much, but
there's often a very satisfying "ting" as the bonded string lets go of the
bearing surface.

By the time you set your temperament you'll be doing very naturally as part
of your normal tuning technique. It doesn't cure the whole problem but it
will reduce the chances of string breakage. If it breaks after that....you
didn't have a chance anyway...it was gonna go whoever tuned it! 

 
Mark Bolsius
Bolsius Piano Services
Canberra Australia

----------
>From: cgpiano@webtv.net (Carman Gentile)
>To: pianotech@ptg.org
>Subject: Bearing lubricant
>Date: Sat, Aug 7, 1999, 11:57 AM
>

>   I use Joy's Rust-Solv as a bearing lubricant and it works very well;
>it really helps assist the strings' excursion over pressure bars,
>through agraffes, etc.  But some of my customers don't like the smell it
>leaves.
>
>  What do YOU folks recommend for a bearing lubricant which is odorless
>and safe for the strings?
>
>Carman Gentile RPT
>
>
>
>
>