METH/WATER for hard hammers

[Susan Kline]

At 10:24 AM 02/13/2000 -0800, Carl wrote:
>Dear Susan;
>Thanks for that good advice.  I don't know why I said methanol since I
>don't actually use it.  Maybe I was only repeating what was said before.
>I generally use denatured or isopropol.  I have a friend that is a PHD
>chemist and I'd ask him but I don't really want to know that much about
>it.  He has told me in the past that you can't be sure what it has been
>denatured with so that is a possible problem.  It's like using baby
>powder rather than pure unscented talk.  It may not hurt the baby but we
>don't know what else is in it.  We use a lot of questionable chemicals
>in our work so care is required.  I remember a class I attended in
>Toronto given by a toxicologist who worked for the Canadian government
>that said lac thinner is really not too bad.  You'd have to drink a pint
>to get to 50% fatality rate.  Breathing lac fumes may cause nausea but
>normally no permanent damage.  However, 8 hrs a day for 20 yrs may be a
>problem.  I was glad to hear that since I don't find the smell to be
>objectional.  But he said he found out that hammer felt in the good old
>days was impregnated with arsenic.  Now there's something serious to
>think about even if trace amounts of arsenic helps to prevent carpal
>tunnel syndrome.
>If you're coming to the State conv. next week, look me up.  I'll be
>mostly in the exhibit hall since I'll be working there as host.
>
>Regards
>
>Carl

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Hi, Carl

I'm glad to hear you're using isopropyl instead of methanol. These
days, with the EPA trying hard to save us from ourselves, one has
to go to some lengths to get the true, dangerous Meth. Alas, that
people seem so eager to, trying swimming pool chemicals and gas
de-icer, which were both meant to be used outside.

I'm not sure what the long-term effects of isopropyl are, but if
it's made to be used as rubbing alcohol, I'm not going to lose any
sleep over it.

Yes, back when I looked at the toxicity of different solvents,
the lacquer thinner surprised me, because it wasn't nearly as bad
as I thought it would be. On the other hand, naphtha was really
bad.

Interesting about the arsenic and carpal tunnel. I never knew that.
I don't like remembering the early days, when I sometimes filed hammers
without a dust mask.

Pretty soon I'm going to try making up shellac from flakes and
liquor store grain alcohol, and using it for voicing (on scrap
hammers at first.) Should be fun. I don't like the keytop in
acetone pinging tone quality.

Yes, I do think I'll be at the CA convention ... see you there.

Susan

------------------------------------------------------------
>Susan Kline wrote:
> >
> > At 04:18 PM 02/12/2000 -0800, you wrote:
> > >If you can drink whats left over you would be tempted to use too much
> > >water. You could use 100 proof vodka, but that is already 50% water so
> > >that's already too much.  I favor methanol since there is a huge tax on
> > >ethanol.  Besides the way to cut down on drinking is to put something
> > >distasteful in your booze like say too much water.
> > >
> > >Cheers
> > >Carl Meyer Santa Claara Ca.
> >
> > Dear Carl,
> >
> > I've been harping on this topic for a long time, and am terribly pleased
> > to see any cracks in the monolith of piano technicians' (to me, fairly
> > mindless) devotion to METHANOL. If a kid manages to find some methanol
> > in your shop or house and takes a swig, it can, literally, kill him.
> > That's why they usually dye it a tasteful shade of lavender, but with
> > soft drinks so highly colored, that is not much protection. By the time
> > a kid realizes it has a nasty taste, it might be too late. Plus, whenever
> > you use it inside, you have to breathe it; if you use it at a customer's,
> > they have to breathe it, and some of them are pretty ill or old already;
> > and if it gets on your hands, it is absorbed through the skin. This is
> > not good stuff to have around. Liver damage, eye damage.
> >
> > The other options are all far better, IMHO. If the tax bothers you, or if
> > you find yourself guzzling the piano supplies, get _denatured alcohol
> > solvent_ at the local hardware. This isn't taxed as potable ethanol,
> > and it is denatured, but it is only 4% methanol. The can doesn't reveal
> > how much water is in it, but I think not much.
> >
> > Personally, I feel no urge at all to nip into bulk grain alcohol that has
> > been sitting around in a plastic bottle waiting for me to treat hammers
> > with it. About like being so sugar-hungry that one eats last year's
> > dusty jelly beans ....
> >
> > Regards,
> >
> > Susan Kline