Ron's talk about juicing hammers reminds me that maybe it would be good to relate my own experiments with juicing. Maybe someone will have some insights on what I've been doing, or would like to try it themselves and tell us how it worked. I am just slightly kinked when it comes to using toxic materials. I like to avoid them as much as I can, even when they aren't really all that bad, and are used in small quantities. My exception is CA glue, but I only use a few drops of that at a time. So, I'm not keen on keytop in acetone for two reasons: (1) I hate the spicky sound, and (2) I don't like breathing acetone, or introducing it into people's houses. To add to that, I tried just a few drops of fairly weak keytop solution on a few hammers of my favorite (i.e. -- ONLY) Baldwin SD-10, and I haven't been able to make them match the rest of the hammers since. Sanding sealer in lacquer thinner: I don't dislike the tone as much, but lacquer thinner is still not all that nice to breathe. Well, I heard that Steinway used to use shellac on their hammers, dripping it on from the side. They would stand the stack on end, and swing the hammers out one at a time, drip the shellac into them, then turn the stack over, and do the other side. Also, I heard that over time, keytop in hammers will, if anything, harden, but that eventually under heavy playing, shellac will break up and get softer, and therefore it is easier to needle later on. I liked the sound of this. I believe that Steinway didn't choose shellac for esoteric reasons or the search for a perfect voicing material, but simply because their cases at the time were finished with shellac. They changed to lacquer when the case finishers started to use it. In other words, they would just grab what was at hand. So, wanting to try shellac, I bought some ultrablonde flakes online. ( woodfinishingsupplies.com ) It is important, with shellac, to make it up fresh, because over time it gets gummy and won't dry properly. The flakes are added to alcohol, so <grin> of course, I used bulk grain alcohol ("Everclear" or "Clear Spring") from the liquor store. This stuff is 190 proof, so it has very little water in it. The juice made with it dries quite quickly. I found that to get the flakes to dissolve without matting at the bottom of the baby food jar I put them in, I needed to put the jar in a pan of water on the stove (at "warm") for a few minutes. I'm still working out "cut" ... that is, the best weight of flakes per ounce of alcohol. I just tried a medium amount, like a not very thick shellac you would use on furniture or priming a soundboard. The drawback of shellac is that it puts little color in the hammers, which one would have to warn owners about. I'm going to try the "bleached" shellac later and see if it is any lighter. However, a side benefit of this drawback is that one can see exactly where the shellac was used, and how far it has seeped. The leftovers will also make a nice finish on whatever odd bits of wood you have lying about, and brushes clean up easily in alcohol. For hammers, I put the shellac in an old (clean) dropper bottle which had held echinacea tincture. Labeled it, of course. The bottle seals well. I then put it in a ziploc bag. Of course, it should not be kept long ... after a couple more weeks I'll toss it and start over. I have used it, so far, on the top seven hammers of a Steinway A (rebuilt) which remained woolly sounding even after other juicing. I took them off the action (since it was easier than taking the stack off the keys) one at a time, dripped the juice into the shoulders from the sides, put them back on, and waited a few minutes. Then I listened, and added two or three drops directly to the strike point of two hammers which remained soft-sounding. This was about a month ago. I saw the piano yesterday. I really like the results. The hammers were bright but not obnoxious, and were fairly uniform. The tone blended well with that of the rest of the piano. I could see a faint beige color on the hammers, though. On this same piano, the first capo section was terribly bright and zingy. I helped the zingers some by fiddling with the wire, but it still had too much "tang" sound for the rest of the piano. So, yesterday, I added a little vodka to most hammers in the first capo, on the front shoulder. I found it instantly effective, really, too effective. I may need to juice up the shoulders a little bit later, though I'll start by using a hammer iron on them. I didn't add all that much, but more than a couple of drops may make the tone mushier than one would like. I'm trying adding it at different places on the shoulders, and if that doesn't soften enough, putting just a drop or two on the strike line. I think it works like steam, which it greatly resembles, but without the nuisance of removing the action and setting up a kettle, or getting out a hammer iron and press cloth. No steam burns or hammer iron burns, either. (Don't ask me how I know about them ...) I still need more experience before I can tell how to reverse the vodka softening, or how it lasts over time. For now, the tone seems good if a little soft-edged, and I'm leaving it for about six weeks, to see whether it brightens with heavy playing, which this piano gets lots of. The owner tried it, and can take the present (not extreme) softness in stride. I told him that if it starts to annoy him, just to say the word and I'll come and iron them and maybe juice them. Vodka does seem much pleasanter than tearing the felt with needles, though (and no blood on the hammers), and it won't leave any foreign material (like Downy) behind. Best to all ... corroboration or rebuttal welcome. Susan Kline
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