Hammer softening

[David M. Porritt]

I agree with Avery.  It's the furtive nature of the stuff.  I really don't
want to die or go blind - particularly when there are other things that will
accomplish my goals with less danger.  I guess if it did something nothing
else would do.....Nah!

 

dp

 

____________________

David M. Porritt, RPT

dporritt at smu.edu

 

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From: pianotech-bounces at ptg.org [mailto:pianotech-bounces at ptg.org] On Behalf
Of Alan Barnard
Sent: Tuesday, October 02, 2007 5:27 PM
To: pianotech at ptg.org
Subject: Re: Hammer softening

 

It is no more dangerous than household bleach, ammonia, CA glue, isopropyl
(rubbing) alcohol, airplane glue, contact cement and a lot of other stuff we
use in the all-American household. 

A. Use in well ventilated area
B. Avoid getting on skin, wash off if you do
C. Don't drink it

Alan Barnard
Salem, MO

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Original message
From: "Avery Todd" 
To: "Pianotech List" 
Received: 10/2/2007 4:38:48 PM
Subject: Re: Hammer softening

Sorry, it's not worth the risk to me! See:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Methanol

Especially scroll on down to the bottom to "Health and Safety". 


Avery Todd
 

On 10/2/07, Michael Kurta <mkurta at roadrunner.com> wrote: 

    Hi Gary:

    This is a direct quote from the Baldwin service manual:

    "For a Softer Tone:  A mixture of 25% water and 75% methanol can be
applied to the hammers to produce a mellower tone in Baldwin hammers.  Care
should be taken not to apply to stapled areas.  The solution can be applied
to the shoulders for moderate changes or to the strike point for more severe
changes.  It is recommended in most cases not to apply the solution to the
top octave and lowest octave since these areas usually require more tone
accentuation to be musically pleasing.  It takes about 20-30 minutes for the
solution to work.  Fine voicing can then be performed with shallow needling
to the hammers as needed to provide a consistent note to note tone." 

    I've used this solution for years and found it to work well.

Methanol BTW, is non-permanent anti-freeze and can sometimes be found at
farm supply stores.  Its also found in windshield washer fluid, but I'm not
sure what else is in there and the proportion of water to methanol. 

    Mike Kurta, Syracuse chapter  

    Mike Kurta, Syracuse chapter

 

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