Kuerti article, part II (long)

[Susan Kline]

At 05:56 AM 3/4/2004 -0500, Jim wrote:
>(WD = water
>displacement, 40 = formula #40; no mention of long-term lubricant).
>
>The source of this is also in the archives. It appeared in the
>Journal,

Yeah, that was an eyeopener. What's more, there was a photo on the
cover of the Journal, just a hand holding a can of WD-40 ready
for action. Inside, it recommended spraying the centers of BRAND
NEW spinets before they were sold to prevent future sluggishness.
*******ARGHHHHHH!!!!!*******

I think I repinned all the hammers of one of those spinets a few
years ago, for way too little money. When I first saw the piano,
the hammers would just stand in air.

I remember back when I was being trained, we'd do keybushings
by using little wood expanding clothespins instead of cauls. Whatever
bad sizes the mortises had (or we made by tearing the wood
removing the old bushings) were perfectly reproduced in the new
bushings. Then it was suggested that the loose ones be tightened
using the "special tool" which crushed the wood just outside the
mortise. Well, not by my teachers, for which I'm grateful.

This is one problem with keeping and perusing old Journals. One
small gem by a departed master mixed into several tons of fools' gold
from everybody else, all offered with the best will in the world.

I wonder how much of what we do now will be viewed the same way
in 20 years?

Jim, thanks for taking the time to mention all of this. In the
wee hours when I spotted the article in my email back shelves,
I pasted it in without thinking. Just browsed a little.

Susan