Ed, Thanks for your comment. Can these smudges be cleaned off? I see the importance of delivering a clean, new action. I mostly work on older pianos, and haven't worried as much about it, except trying to avoid the problem as much as possible. I generally use butane, but sometimes it leaves smudges. I don't like carrying a heat gun around from house to house. I've never cleaned off those shanks that I was unfortunate enough to smudge. Sincerely, Gary Mushlin, MME, RPT On Apr 3, 2006, at 6:17 AM, ed440 at mindspring.com wrote: > Gary, > > Cosmetics matter when the customer is looking at the new action > you're delivering, or wants to see what you've done to their piano. > > For heating shanks I've used an alcohol lamp, a butane lighter, a > butane fire starter, and also the Weller heat gun and a small Ace > hardware heat gun on low heat with a 5/8" nozzle attachment. > > Of all of these, the heat guns are the least likely to char or > smudge the shanks. They work well with the shank in a vertical > orientation, so the shank can be stood upright on the rail. making > it very unlikely that heat will strike any neighboring parts. > > (I'm refering here to heating shanks, not glue joints.) > > Ed Sutton > > > -----Original Message----- > From: Gary Mushlin > Sent: Apr 3, 2006 12:41 AM > To: College and University Technicians > Subject: Re: [CAUT] hammer burning experiment > > List, > > My understanding is that the blackening on the shank is generally > due to poor combustion of the fuel being used. This carbon deposit > would appear even if another material like metal was being heated. > > I've always understood that this carbon deposit was a cosmetic > problem and shouldn't impede the function of the shank. On the > other hand, actual burning of the wood would be harmful. > > Are there any comments concerning this? > > Thanks. > > Sincerely, > Gary Mushlin, MME, RPT > > > On Apr 2, 2006, at 9:45 PM, Paul Chick ((Earthlink)) wrote: > >> >> >> Subject: Re: [CAUT] hammer burning experiment >> >> >> >> Jon, >> >> >> >> IMO alcohol seems to burn (blacken) the shank easier than butane. >> As long as the shank is held in the blue flame it won?t burn. Don? >> t you find this to be true? >> >> >> >> Jim >> >> >> >> Subject: [CAUT] hammer burning experiment >> >> >> >> >As I said, I heat the shank at the hammer. The question I have >> is, where do >> >you guys heat the shank? How far from the hammer? >> >> >> >> I heat with an alcohol lamp and wave the flame under the length of >> the shank >> >> while holding/rotating the hammer in the corrected direction until >> the shank >> >> heats up enough to feel it 'give'. Hold the hammer for a few >> seconds longer >> >> with no flame to set. I was instructed not to concentrate the >> heat on one spot. >> >> >> >> Jon Page >> >> >> >> ?Where the flame is blue, there?s no residue.? Steinway school. >> >> >> >> Paul C >> >> > -------------- next part -------------- An HTML attachment was scrubbed... URL: https://www.moypiano.com/ptg/caut.php/attachments/20060403/4ea4b21e/attachment.html
This PTG archive page provided courtesy of Moy Piano Service, LLC