out of the box Pearls

[Ron Nossaman]

>Ron,
>         While prepping a Story and Clark-Chinese Vertical , I tried to
>remove the bags from the bottom of the piano, except they were stapled
>down and the bag fell apart. Those little dingle balls went every where
>and I said some very bad words.
>         Tom Driscoll


Hi Tom,
Silica gel, or whatever the desiccant de jour may happen to be at the 
moment, is a wonderful thing in it's proper usage, but...

What is it doing in a piano? There is a finite amount of moisture any given 
desiccant can absorb. If the shipping crate is hermetically sealed, then 
the piano isn't going to absorb any more moisture than was in the air at 
the time it was packed, so without the benefit of any packaged desiccants, 
it's already at, and shall forevermore remain at, equilibrium moisture 
content of the contained environment - as long as the moisture barrier 
isn't breached. If the crate isn't hermetically sealed, then no conceivable 
quantity of desiccant can protect it from moisture in transit, or storage, 
or time on the open docks during thunderstorms, hurricanes, and labor union 
strikes.

All things considered, in pianos the stuff is utterly superfluous and 
functionally useless - like a city mayor. So why is it packed in a piano in 
the first place, much less in places, and by methods that make it a pain in 
the butt to remove? Also like a city mayor, come to think of it.

Just wondering.

Ron N